Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Mar 24: The business of exchanging demonetised currency notes with face value of Rs 1,000 and 500 continues to thrive in the city. Even as two persons were trying to exchange the old currency notes they possessed by offering 60 percent commission, police personnel of city crime branch took them into custody and seized currency notes worth Rs 1.28 crore.

The arrested persons are Jimmy Rahul of Konanakunte Cross here and Ajay from Honnavar in Uttara Kannada district, both of whom are into real estate business. They were proceeding to the office of a chartered accountant for exchanging of the old notes when the police raided them along with huge amount of cash as stated above.

Ajay and Rahul

The police personnel have got to know that both Ajay and Jimmy had continued to keep with them the money they earned out of real estate business even when the high value currency notes were demonetised. They were apprehensive of remitting this money to the banks as they could fall under the scanner of the income tax department. They continued to believe that the government will roll back the note ban order. After the time given for exchanging old notes expired, they started to approach various people seeking to make some arrangement to exchange the defunct notes held by them. But no one came forward to fulfill their wishes. They were arrested when both were moving towards the office of Rishi Jain, a chartered accountant on Pipeline Road Malleshwaram.

A case about the finding was registered in Sheshadripuram station and investigation is continuing, said city police commissioner, Praveen Sood.

The arrested persons, who were aware that non-resident Indians (NRI) were given time till March 31 to exchange currency held by them, were searching for people who could get notes exchanged through such persons. As they failed to get any NRIs to get this done, they were making efforts by contacting chartered accountants, the police said.

The accused had contacted several people in their effort to exchange old notes with the new ones, duly offering commission as high as 60 percent. A person who recorded their conversation in phone conveyed information to city crime branch police, who began operations in the guise of people involved with exchanging demonetised notes.

The accused initially did not agree to show all the old currency they held, but sent photo of the notes through WhatsApp. The police, who were in the guise of bank employees, insisted on seeing the physical presence of cash. At last, the accused showed cash to them, after which they were arrested, sources stated.

Senior officials in crime branch felt that many who hold demonetised notes in the city may not be coming out into the open because of fear of law. They said that all avenues of exchanging old notes have been closed now and any assurance to exchange demonetised notes can only be fake. They said that keeping demonetised currency notes in excess of specified quantities is a crime.