Six held in UP for trading demonetised notes through Telegram, police probe RBI link claim

In a statement, Superintendent of Police (SP), Hapur, Kunwar Gyananjay Singh said the accused had formed an organised network and were luring people by offering commission or new currency in exchange of old notes.

“In several instances, they would also cheat people and grab the money. They were making huge profits by selling the currency further,” Singh said.

Police sources said that the accused claimed to have connections in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). “Their RBI connection claim is currently under investigation. From what it seems, the six people who have been arrested were the ones who were collecting the currency. It seems that a bigger nexus is involved,” a police source said.

“We are currently looking at the forward – backward linkages. They would get in touch with businessmen who still have old currency notes in their possession. The gang would also often dupe their clients, for instance, sometimes they would give Rs. 10 thousand of running currency in exchange for Rs. 1 Lakh in old currency. They would promise Rs 20 thousand more once the currency provided had been exchanged. However, they would dupe their clients and never respond,” said Circle Officer Grehmukhteshwar, Varun Mishra.

According to police, a tip-off was received from residents of the area, who were aware of the functioning of this racket about the gang operating near a scrap factory on Chitauli Road in Kotwali Hapur Nagar. A raid was conducted on the spot, and when the suspects tried to flee, they were surrounded and apprehended by the police.

Police said the racket was being run across cities.

According to police, those arrested have been identified as Narendra Kumar, Shafiq Ahmed, Vikas alias Vicky, Amal who were residents of Hapur. Two other accused arrested are Ramavatar from Moradabad, and Hitesh alias Shalu from Bijnor.

In 2016 the Government of India demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, a move that had been initiated by the government as a way to curb the circulation of black money.