Mumbai doctor among 6 caught with ₹2.25 crore in scrapped notes

The Thane crime branch (Unit-1) caught six people, including a city doctor, in three separate incidents and seized Rs2.25 crore in old notes in the past four days.

The Thane crime branch (Unit-1) caught six people, including a city doctor, in three separate incidents and seized Rs2.25 crore in old notes in the past four days.

Thane municipal commissioner Param Bir Singh (centre) shows old notes seized in Thane on Wednesday. (Praful Gangurde)

The accused were initially brought to the crime branch office where their personal details and statements were recorded. They along with the seized currency was handed over to the income tax department, which will probe the source of the invalidated banknotes.

The premium for exchanging old notes was in the range of 30% to 45%, said the police.

In the first incident on Tuesday, the doctor and a delivery boy were caught with Rs1.29 crore in the scrapped currency.

In the second incident on Monday evening, an employee of a financial company from Mumbai was arrested at the Kharegaon toll naka in Kalwa. The police recovered Rs50 lakh in old currency from him.

Another tranche of illegal tender worth Rs46 lakh was seized on Sunday when a driver and two tranport businessmen from Malad and Ghatkopar reached the Jambhli naka in Thane to exchange old currency. Spurred by a tip-off, the police arrested them from the naka.

Thane police commissioner Param Bir Singh said, “Investigation is on to trace the source of this currency. We have not registered any case.”

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