The Karnataka police have arrested three persons and seized Rs 1.92 crore of demonitised currency notes in Dakshina Kannada district.
The accused have been identified as Zabeer, Hammabba and Deepak Kumar, who are all residents of Mangaluru. Zabeer and Hammabba worked as drivers and Deepak Kumar was into electrical contracting business.
N. Shashi Kumar, Manguluru Commissioner of Police, said the accused were arrested on a tip-off when they were transporting the currency notes of denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 in a multi-utility vehicle.
Preliminary investigations suggested that the money was being brought from Chitradurga and Shivamogga districts. The accused were giving this money at 20 per cent of their original value.
The accused told the police that some banks would accept the denominated currency for 50 per cent of their face value. The accused have been booked under The Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017.
A person holding denominated currency notes is liable to be punished with a fine of Rs 50,000 and could be fined five times of the denominated currency he is in possession of, Shashi Kumar added.
The police are further investigating from whom these denominated currency notes were procured and where it was destined to. The police said they would further investigate the matter.
Commissioner Shashikumar urged the people not to possess or fall pray to people who try to sell denominated currency by telling that they would be exchanged in banks.
