After arrest of politician, textile bizman’s Mumbai home raided, Rs 17 lakh seized in old notes

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has informed the I-T department, said the seized notes would be deposited with the RBI

The arrest of a Congress leader and three others, including a key accused, in connection with a fake currency case led the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to the doorstep of a textile businessman. It raided his residence in Malad and seized Rs 17 lakh in demonetised notes on Wednesday.

The DRI recovered Rs 9.75 lakh in fake notes from the key accused on Monday. (HT)

The 35-year-old kingpin, Rehan Abdul Rahim Khan, had frequently changed his location and identity after DRI arrested three men, including a Congress leader, with counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs 8.9 lakh on October 7. He was held on Monday with fake currency. Officers also learnt that he had duped several people with a promise to exchange old notes. “We conducted raid at the residence of the businessman dealing in textiles where we found toy and demonetised currency worth Rs 17 lakh in the form of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 old notes,” said a senior officer.

The agency has informed the Income Tax (I-T) department and said that the seized notes will be deposited into the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). While no case has been registered or any arrest made, the agency is investigating further about the origin of the old notes.

The agency suspects more people are involved in the case. Earlier, investigation also revealed that Khan cheated people during demonetisation. “He promised people to exchange old notes. During the actual transaction, he would stage police raids and flee with the valid notes,” said the officer. After Khan was arrested from a relative’s home at Shilphata in Kalyan, the agency seized Rs 9.75 lakh in fake Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes from his possession.