Demonetized Racket Busted: ₹3.59 Crore in Old Notes Seized
The old notes are back in the news, but this time it’s purely criminal. Delhi Police just busted a massive operation in Ashok Vihar, arresting four men who were trying to circulate invalid demonetized currency worth more than ₹3.59 crore.
X happened (These guys thought they could make a quick, illegal buck). And then Y followed (The police laid a trap and shut it down).
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The Scam and The Seizure
Police got a tip-off on Wednesday and quickly laid a trap near Shalimar Bagh Metro Station. They arrested four people: Harsh, Tek Chand Thakur, Lakshya, and Vipin Kumar.
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The Haul: The seizure was massive: ₹3,59,08,000 in notes, all in the old, invalid ₹500 and ₹1,000 denominations.
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The False Claim: The arrested men were duping people. They were offering the demonetized notes at a small fraction of their face value. The catch? They falsely claimed the currency could be exchanged at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) using Aadhaar. Let’s be real, that’s total nonsense under the law.
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The Law: A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections and the Specified Bank Notes Act, 2017. Possessing and circulating these notes is absolutely unlawful.
The Network and The Motive
During interrogation, they all confessed. They knew what they were doing was illegal. Their motive? The prospect of “quick and illegal money,” or nothing.
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Financial Pressure: Their personal stories are messy. They cited massive financial pressures—things like struggling with household expenses, having loan repayments to manage, and even one facing high costs for an upcoming marriage.
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The Bosses: The arrested men were not the masterminds. They claimed they were acting on instructions from two individuals named Ashish and Tarun, who had allegedly approached them months ago. These bosses promised hefty commissions and assured the arrested men that the notes could be “converted through undisclosed channels.”
Two cars used in the operation were impounded. The police are still deep in the investigation right now, trying to identify everyone else involved and, critically, figure out where this huge stack of old notes came from.
Disclaimer: This report is based on statements from Delhi Police and should be verified with official case records.
