NIA seizes ₹36 crore in banned notes
NEW DELHI: On the eve of the first anniversary of demonetisation, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced on Tuesday a seizure of ~36.34 crore in demonetised currency here in its ongoing probe into cross-border funding of terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
The money was seized on Monday. NIA officials said that the role of some bank employees in Srinagar is under the scanner in connection with the second biggest seizure of demonetised currency. The biggest seizure after demonetisation was in December 2016 when income tax officials seized ₹102 crore in demonetised currency from mining baron Sekhar Reddy in Chennai.
Amid a continuing attack by the opposition on note ban, Monday’s seizure is likely to boost the government’s argument that demonetisation helped curb terror financing. “We have seized demonetised currency worth ₹36,34,78,500 and arrested nine people in this connection,” NIA inspector general Alok Mittal said. He said the investigators intercepted a gang on Tuesday at Jai Singh Road near Connaught Place in the heart of the capital.
The arrested accused included Pradeep Chauhan, 47, and Bhagwan Singh, 54, of Delhi, Vinod Shreedhar Shetty, 47, and Deepal Toprani, 60, of Mumbai, Shahnawaz Mir, 45, of Srinagar, Majid Yousuf Sofi, 27, of Anantnag and Umar Mushtaq Dar, 27, of Pulwama in J&K, Ejaj-ul Hassan,38, of Amroha in Uttar Pradesh and Jaswinder Singh, 53, of Nagpur.
The accused were carrying 28 cartons filled with ₹500 and ₹1000 notes in four vehicles — two BMWs, a Creta and a Ford EcoSport.
Investigators say since the haul of demonetised currency was so huge, they sought help from officials of the Reserve Bank of India who counted the money at the NIA headquarters here.
Mittal said during the investigation into the terror funding case, it emerged that some people linked to separatists and terrorists were still in possession of a significant amount of demonetised currency. “They could not deposit or convert the demonetisated currency during the window provided by the government. The NIA mounted surveillance on the suspects. Investigators found that a gang of suspects were trying to convert this demonetised money into valid currency,” added Mittal.
Following the closure of window for conversion of old currency, the government in March this year notified a law that made possession of more than 10 old currency notes a criminal offence.
In June, the NIA had filed an FIR alleging funding of separatists in Kashmir valley from Pakistan. The agency said that money from Pakistan was used for funding violence in the Valley that included stone pelting on security forces and torching of schools and government buildings.