Old currency notes worth Rs 45 crore seized in Chennai

CHENNAI: Police seized Rs 45 crore in demonetised currency notes from a shop in Zackariah Colony in Kodambakkam on Thursday.Acting on a tip-off, a police team headed by deputy commissioner, T Nagar, Saravanan, and Kodambakkam inspector, Chittibabu, raided a shop which stitches uniforms for police personnel. Subsequently, they seized four gunny bags in which the money – in the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations – was stuffed.The owner Dhandapani, who was taken into custody, told police that a realtor from Pondy Bazaar, Pathan Gilani, had given him the money to be kept in the shop. However, police suspect that Dhandapani was acting as an agent exchanging old currency notes for a commission. Police said the money could have been stockpiled as his attempts to exchange it proved futile. Police have submitted a report to the RBI and handed over the cash to them. Police sources said that the case is likely to be shifted to the I-T department or the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.Since demonetisation was announced on November 8, there have been several raids in Chennai on businessmen and others. The raids on the premises of sand mining baron Sekhar Reddy and two of his associates last December have been the biggest so far.The IT department had seized Rs 130.5 crore in old and new currencies and 177 kg of gold worth Rs 50.5 crore during the raids. In March, the Chennai police had seized demonetised notes amounting to Rs 1.02 crore and Rs 3.45 crore in two different incidents from people who were attempting to get it exchanged for a commission.