Rs 3 crore in demonetised notes seized in Pune; 5 detained

Nearly Rs 3 crore in demonetised notes were seized from five people, one of them a Congress councillor from Ahmednagar district, police said today.

According to the Khadak police station, Gajendra Abhang, a Congress corporator from the Sangamner Municipal Council, is one of the five people who were in Raviwar Peth area here to exchange the scrapped notes and were detained by cops last night.

The others were identified as Vijay Shinde (38), Aditya Ghavan (25) and Navnath Bhandagale (28), all from Pune, and one Suraj Jagtap (40) from Satara district.

"Acting on a tip-off, we detained all five people from Raviwar Peth area when they came to exchange the notes," said a senior official of the Khadak police station.

A probe is underway to find out whom they wanted to exchange the demonetised notes with, he said.

"They were found in possession of 48,000 demonetised notes, all in denominations of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, and their total (face) value stood at Rs 2.99 crore," he added.

The police have registered a non-cognisable offence under relevant sections of the Specified Bank Notes ( Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017.

The official said the Income-Tax department has been notified about the seizure.