The Police are keeping a close watch on Maoists who are reportedly making efforts to exchange the now-defunct Rs. 500 and Rs.1000 notes.
With the government announcing December 30 as the deadline for exchanging the old currency, the extremists are contacting their sympathisers and financiers for arranging new notes. It is learnt that the Communist Party of India (Maoist) is facing a severe problem in exchanging the notes.
On November 10, the police arrested a petrol pump owner at Ranchi on November 10 when he reportedly tried to deposit Rs.25 lakh, belonging to a person affiliated with the party, in a bank.
The police are trying to get more information from Nand Kishore and investigating his links with the banned organisation.
“Naxalites will depend on their couriers, sympathisers and their open cadres for carrying out their activities in plain areas. As bank activities were stalled in villages for the last few days, extremists may move to urban areas for exchange of the old currency,” a police officer said.
“At present, Maoists are not in a position to cross the State borders and move in forests freely after the recent major strike by the elite forces at Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) in which about 30 Naxalites were killed. The Centre’s decision on demonetisation casts a shadow on Maoist party too,” an intelligence official told The Hindu .
