The police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized Rs 100 crore in banned Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes from a house in Kanpur.
The notes, which were banned in November 2016, were neatly stacked up like a ‘bed’. The police were tipped-off by the NIA. The elite investigation agency shared the details with the police because they didn’t suspect any terror angle.
According to the NIA, the money might belong to four-five individuals or groups.
Following the tip-off, cops in civil dresses were deployed in the areas where the hotels were located.
As many as 16 people, including a noted builder and a professor, have been arrested in connection with the haul. Authorities say that the money was stored in gunny bags and hidden in the builder’s house with the intent of converting it into legal currency through illegal means.
According to reports, the gang is from the east Uttar Pradesh. The members of the gang were putting up at different hotels in city.
The authorities informed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Income Tax officials.
Currency notes of the two denominations were banned as the nation aggressively went through with the Centre’s demonetisation drive. People returned Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in their possession to the banks in the following months.
The RBI has said that 99 per cent of the demonetised notes have returned to the banks. In November 2017, the NIA had recovered Rs 36.34 crore in demonetised currency in Delhi.
This Kanpur seizure is the biggest since demonetisation.