Kolkata, Dec 23 (IANS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted search operations in several branches of three district cooperative banks in West Bengal, an official said.

"Teams are conducting search operations in cooperative bank branches in Hooghly, Howrah and Nadia districts. We are verifying the transactions in accounts made by the customers," said an ED official.

The agency was trying to take stock of accounts' details in which lump-sum amounts were transacted, the official said.

"After the announcement of demonetisation, cooperative banks were allowed to take deposits or exchange old bank notes. Like other commercial banks, cooperative banks took deposits of old notes from November 10 to 13. 

"The apex bank (RBI), later on November 14, stopped old notes' deposits and exchange in the cooperative banks. The order is still applicable," West Bengal State Cooperative Bank Ltd's Managing Director Chinmoy Gupta told IANS.

"No exchange facility against the specified bank notes (Rs 500 and Rs 1,000) or deposit of such notes should be entertained by them (District Central Cooperative Banks)," said the Reserve Bank of India's November 14 notification.