Barke police in Mangaluru seized old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, worth ₹1.92 crore, from three people.
Mangaluru Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar told reporters on November 19 that the notes were confiscated when the accused were trying to transport them in a multi-use vehicle. He named the accused Jabir and Hammaba, both working as drivers, and Deepak Kumar, who assisted his father, who is an electrical contractor; All of them are residents of Mangaluru.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had bought notes from some people in Shivamogga and Chitradurga districts. The accused allegedly approached some people in Mangaluru and presented these notes at 20% of their face value. They claimed that under a special provision banks would accept such notes at 50% of the face value, Mr Kumar said.
Stating that the demonetised currency notes were not even worth the value of the paper on which they were printed, the commissioner urged the people not to fall prey to people claiming to offer demonetised currencies at discounted rates .
The accused have been booked for fraud under the Indian Penal Code and the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017. A person voluntarily possessing such discontinued notes can be punished with a fine of ₹ 50,000 or five times the face value. The number of notes, whichever is higher, under the Expiry Act, Mr. Kumar informed reporters.
The accused will be produced in the judicial court on November 19 and their custody will be sought for further investigation. Police will investigate from whom the accused obtained the notes and to whom they were trying to provide.
Deputy Commissioners of Police Hariram Shankar (Law and Order) and Dinesh Kumar (Crime and Traffic) and Barke Police Inspector Jyotirlinga Honnakatty were present.
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