Rs70 lakh in new Rs2,000 notes seized from postal official’s kin in Hyderabad

The CBI seized Rs70 lakh in new currency in Hyderabad during raids conducted on the premises of relatives of a postal department official, who was earlier arrested for alleged involvement in fraudulently exchanging new currency notes.

Reports quoting police sources said the cash, all in new notes of Rs2,000, was seized on Friday during raids in Ibrahimpatnam in Ranga Reddy district.

The raids came a day after a special court in Hyderabad sent K Sudheer Babu, senior superintendent of a post office in Hyderabad, who fraudently exchanged new Rs2,000 notes for old currency without any valid identification proof, to judicial custody.

The postal department official, Babu, allegedly handed over new currency notes of Rs2,000 denomination, valued at Rs2.95 crore, to middlemen for a commission.

Sudheer Babu had surrendered before the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday and has since been remanded to judicial custody till 23 December.

The CBI has registered three cases and arrested four accused, including Sudheer Babu. The CBI also booked two assistants in the office of senior superintendent of post office and officials of three post offices in Hyderabad for conspiring with Sudheer Babu for diverting the notes meant for exchange of old notes with the public.

Two others, Nitin and Narasimha Reddy, who acted as middlemen, were also arrested and sent to judicial custody.

The new Rs2,000 notes were diverted from the new currency notes sent to the postal department for exchange of demonetised notes of Rs500 and Rs1.000.

The investigating agency had earlier recovered Rs17.02 lakh in new currency notes of Rs2,000 denomination.