Hyderabad: Demonetised currency notes with a face value of Rs 12.11 lakh have been seized from a shop by police in Khammam district based on interrogation of recently arrested gang involved in fake currency racket, police said Wednesday.
A police team raided Tuesday night the shop in Vemsoor and found several bundles of scrapped notes in the denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1000, which the gang had used to cheat the gullible, police informed.
Police had November 2 arrested a five-member gang including a 54-year old businessman, for allegedly indulging in exchange of fake currency notes. During questioning they revealed that they had deceived some more people by promising to exchange demonetised currency. They informed police about the shop where they had kept the scrapped notes, police said.
ACP N Venkatesh told this agency over phone that the gang members used to approach gullible public and claim the Reserve Bank of India had extended the time period for replacing the demonetised currency and offered to exchange scrapped notes with a face value of Rs 110 crore for Rs 40 crore in cash, that too only in Rs 500 denomination.
The had shot videos showing a large number of bundles containing paper sheets with the banned currency notes placed on top and used them to lure their victims.
Two victims, who fell in their trap, had lodged police complaints stating that the accused had collected Rs 2,00,000 each as token amount from them but did not give the demonetised currency.
Police have registered a case under IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and also under the Section 7 of the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017, which provides for punishment to anyone possessing the defunct notes. Further investigation was on, police added.
PTI