In one of the biggest catches of demonetised currency notes in Telangana, the Hyderabad police on Sunday seized banned currency notes of ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 denominations having a face value of ₹ 4.41 crore after arresting nine persons.
The Commissioner’s Task Force (West) sleuths, acting on a tip-off that a real estate businessman P. Kalyan Prasad and his associates were meeting to exchange the banned currency notes, raided a house in Banjara Hills and caught the gang. The other arrested persons are Mohd. Farooq, agent dealing in sale and purchase of pre-owned cars, Mir Muzaffar, rice merchant, Gowtham Agarwal, pearl dealer, Y. Surya Prasad, contract employee in electricity department, K. Harinath Babu, builder, V. Rajendranath, Chartered Accountant, Mohd. Mustafa Siddiqui, student, and Syed Sikander Ali, businessman.
Farooq, Muzaffar, Agarwal, Siddiqui, Surya and Ali had approached Prasad a few days ago and told him that they had huge quantities of banned currency notes. “They asked him if he can help in exchanging the banned notes,” TF DCP B. Limba Reddy said.
Prasad had told them that ditto was his situation. They had contacted Babu and Rajendranath to find out ways and means to exchange the old notes for new ones. “The duo struck a deal with them to arrange new currency notes by deducting a commission of 30%,” TF (West) Inspector L. Raja Venkat Reddy, who conducted the raid with his team, said.
The detained persons, along with the seized demonetised currency notes, were turned over to the Banjara Hills police for investigation.
