People ‘commissioned’ to exchange Rs 2,000 notes in Bhubaneswar
BHUBANESWAR: The regional office of RBI here has been witnessing long queues of people, who are seen waiting since morning hours to get Rs 2,000 currency notes exchanged, for last two days. After the deadline to deposit and exchange Rs 2,000 currency notes at banks ended on October 7, individuals are now lining up at RBI to swap the discontinued high-denomination currency.
But what left many surprised is that the rush to exchange notes was almost three weeks after the deadline and most of the people in the queues were carrying exactly 10 pieces of Rs 2,000 notes.
Sources said some influential individuals might have engaged people from slums and nearby areas to get the discontinued currency exchanged. Had they deposited the notes in the banks earlier, it would have been accounted for. Now once the currency is exchanged, it would not be easier to ascertain the real hoarder, they said. When asked, some of the people in the queues admitted to have been standing for exchange of notes at a commission of Rs 300 to Rs 500. They, however, did not disclose the names of the people behind the scene expressing ignorance about their identity.
The RBI authorities feigned ignorance about the commission people get for exchanging the currency notes. “On an average, we are receiving Rs 2,000 notes of around Rs 2 crore for last two days. More than 95 per cent of the notes are being exchanged and the rest getting deposited. As per norms, we have kept the identity proof of people who have exchanged and deposited notes. They all are under CCTV surveillance,” said a senior official.
The long queues were witnessed nearly two weeks after a similar rush at the RBI office. On October 11, many depositors were a disgruntled lot after they were refused for exchange of torn and damaged currency notes. They threw the damaged notes of Rs 100, Rs 200 and Rs 500 denominations on the street in front of the RBI in protest after the officials refused to accept the damaged notes for exchange. Police had to intervene and pacify the irate people.