With a large number of people queueing up outside the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regional office in Bhubaneswar over the past three-four days to exchange Rs 2,000 notes, officers of central agencies and Odisha Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) have been trying to collect information regarding the identities of these people and the source of the money, sources said. “When so many people are coming to exchange Rs 2,000 bank notes, it naturally raises suspicion. We had deputed our staff to collect intelligence about the source of the money that is being exchanged. Officials of many central agencies, like the Enforcement Directorate, Income-Tax and GST also verified the people coming to exchange the notes,” a senior EOW official said. RBI sources said that over the past three days, Rs 2,000 notes, which have been withdrawn from circulation, worth around Rs 1.5 crore have been exchanged every day at the RBI’s Bhubaneswar office. Some of the people who queued up at the office told The Indian Express that they were being paid to stand in line and exchange other people’s Rs 2,000 notes. On Thursday, one Raja Pradhan said he was looking for people to hire him to exchange their notes. In the previous days, he said he had exchanged 10 pieces of Rs 2,000 notes and received Rs 400 in return. He said he provided his Aadhaar card as identification to exchange the notes. However, he declined to reveal who had paid him to get their notes exchanged. “I have to work to feed my family. So, I agreed to do it on behalf of others,” Pradhan said. However, on Thursday, he said no one approached him for this work. Like Pradhan, several others have come to the RBI office, hoping to make money by standing in line for others. They charge between Rs 300 and Rs 400 for exchanging 10 notes. “One of my seniors told me that I could make money in return for exchanging Rs 2,000 notes for others. He gave me 10 pieces of Rs 2,000 notes. I don’t know whose money this is,” said a college student, who spoke to The Indian Express on condition of anonymity. A woman standing in front of the RBI office said she had been making Rs 300 daily in the last three days by exchanging notes. October 7 was the last date to deposit or exchange Rs 2,000 notes at individual bank branches, but people can still exchange these notes at RBI centres. One person is allowed to exchange up to 10 notes at a time by producing their identity proof. EOW officials said they were collecting intelligence on who were exchanging the notes, how much money was being exchanged and where the money was coming from. They said they were not immediately expecting to take any action, unless they find any criminal link to the money. RBI regional director S P Mohanty said officials exchanged the notes of those queueing up after verifying their identities. “We are keeping their identity proofs and CCTV footage for record,” he told reporters. RBI officials said they would fully cooperate if any agency were to seek any clarification from them.
