BENGALURU: Seven more people, including a brother-in-law of suspended Chief Project officer of State Highway Jayachandra, were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday.
G Prashanth, brother-in-law of Jayachandra, was arrested and `91.94 lakh was seized from him. A source at ED said agents of self-help groups and officials of two banks allegedly aided the accused in money laundering.
The source said, “Prashanth had 4,597 notes of `2,000 denomination. Prashanth had organised a network of supplying new notes in exchange for demonetised notes to those who had hoarded money and were desperately looking for a way to exchange the notes following the demonetisation move.
He would exchange the old notes for a commission ranging between 20 and 35 per cent. He had supplied new notes on many occasions to Jayachandra and fell into ED’s trap while trying to supply new notes on December 4. The seized cash was sourced from various parts of the state since the day of demonetisation.”
Earlier this month, Income Tax Department of Karnataka and Goa Circle raided residences of two state government engineers and two contractors and said they uncovered unaccounted income of `152 crore that includes high-end luxury cars. Out of the cash found, `5.7 crore was in the new currency of `2,000 denomination notes.
S C Jayachandra, chief planning officer of state highway development project of PWD, and T N Chikkarayappa, managing director of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd, were suspended following the raid.
Multiple agencies with different mandate are looking into the case now. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), ED and Anti-Corruption Bureau are investigating the case.
kalaburagi
Businessman held with F25 lakh in F2,000 notes
Kalaburagi police seized unaccounted cash of D25 lakh in D2,000 notes on Tuesday night when it was being transported in a number-less car near Naganahalli Ring Road on the outskirts of Kalaburagi, said Additional Superintendent of Police Jayaprakash in a press release on Thursday. Police intercepted Suraj Singh, a businessman from Vasavi Nagar, Raichur, and handed him over to the Income Tax Department.
chitradurga
Two arrested with F15 lakh cash, 2 more to be quizzed
Chitradurga police nabbed two people who were converting demonetised currency notes and seized D15 lakh from them (photo above). This included D2000 notes worth D11 lakh, D100 notes worth D3.9 lakh and D50 notes worth D10,000. Raju, a trader from Holalkere, and Pruthvi of Chitradurga were arrested when they were about to exchange the cash. Two more accused Teju and Mani are also likely to be quizzed in this connection.
davangere
Jan Dhan accounts get F300 crore in 29 days
The 2.32 lakh Jan Dhan accounts in Davanagere district have been flooded with D300 crore in deposits between November 8 and December 6. District lead bank manager (Canara Bank) N T Yerriswamy said the accounts which have more than D40,000 would be looked into by the Income Tax Department.
hassan
F27.5L in old currency seized
Javagal police arrested four people in connection with alleged exchange of old notes in Javagal of Hassan district on Thursday. The arrested are Chandan, Chetan, Ramesh and Nagaraj of Banavara. Police have seized D27.5 lakh.