Demonestised currency seized, three detained

Even after eight months after demonetization, people in Jaipur are trying to illegally exchange old currency notes for a commission, senior police officials said on Sunday.

This comes a day after the antiterrorism squad (ATS) helped the Jaipur police arrest three people who were about to exchange ₹2.6 crore in old currency notes.

The raid was conducted at Sanjay Jain’s residence in Lakshminarayan Puri from where the demonetised currency notes were allegedly seized, IG ATS Biju George Joseph said.

Those arrested included a home guard Bhagwan Singh, who along with two businessmen had walked into the trap laid by the ATS. The two arrested, include a cloth merchant Sanjay Jain and a sweet shop owner Ramprasad Saini.“Three other people managed to escape once they came to know that the police were on their trail. We managed to trap them by posing as people who could help them exchange the money,” said Vikas Kumar, SP, ATS.

The police said that it indicates that some clandestine and illegal channels are still operating that help people exchange old currency notes. “The businessmen had earlier told us that they had around ₹7 crore and more money (around 30-35 crore) will be brought in if they could successfully exchange the old notes. This indicates that those involved could also have a connection with banking channels,” said a senior ATS official.