MUMBAI: Jewellers sold 15 tonnes of gold ornaments and bars, worth around Rs 5,000 crore, on the intervening night of November 8 and 9 after the government demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes, said Surendra Mehta, national secretary of India Bullion & Jewellers Association (IBJA). IBJA has 2,500 jewellers registered with it from across the country.“We estimate gold worth Rs 5,000 crore, or around 15 tonnes, was sold between 8 pm on November 8 and 2-3 am the next day, after the PM’s demonetisation announcement,” Mehta told ET. He said nearly half of these sales happened in Delhi, UP and Punjab. He claimed that only 1,000 of around 6 lakh jewellers across the country had accepted Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in exchange for gold on the night of November 8.IBJA has requested the government to take strict action against erring jewellers as they had brought a “bad” name to the entire trade, Mehta added.The figure of 15 tonnes is significant as it amounts to over a fifth of the monthly sales of gold in a normal year. Indians consume around 800 tonnes of gold each year, though this year the figure is estimated to be much lower at 500 tonnes, especially after the crackdown on trade and demonetisation. Jewellers caught the tax authorities’ attention by keeping their establishments open well after midnight on Tuesday. The central excise intelligence unitof Bhopal sent tax notices to 650 jewellers, asking them to state the quantity ofsold between November 7 and 11.