10 fraudsters in net for money rain ritual, RBI smells a rat

BENGALURU: Halasuru Gate police arrested 10 fraudsters from various parts of the city and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, following a complaint from the manager of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on October 17, stating that currency notes of Rs 2000 denomination that had been withdrawn from circulation, were altered by changing their serial numbers and submitted to the RBI. The arrested are Mohan K, Shreenivasa Murthy, Raju, Basavaraj, Munishamappa, Mallikarjun, Ramakrishna, Pally Muralidhar, Ramachandra and Mubarak. Police are on the lookout for a woman who was part of the gang. During investigation, the person who had deposited the altered money at the RBI was apprehended from his residence in Cubbonpet on October 24. Upon interrogation, the accused confessed to having deposited Rs 40,000 at the bank, stating that he had received the money from two acquaintances who had promised him a commission. These two persons were traced and apprehended near Mysore Bank Circle on the same day. On October 25, the three accused were produced before court and remanded in police custody for six days. Further interrogation revealed that the accused had received Rs 8 lakh in Rs 2,000 notes from three persons known to them, to be deposited at RBI and transfer the equivalent amount to their accounts. The three persons who had given Rs 8 lakh were apprehended near Majestic Bus Stand on October 26. During interrogation, they confessed that they had cheated the public by falsely claiming that if they performed a special ritual using Rs 2,000 notes (except the O, OO, OP and OU series printed in 2018 with consecutive serial numbers withdrawn from circulation), it would multiply the money hundredfold and cause a rain of money. By convincing people of this fraudulent ritual, they collected Rs 2,000 withdrawn notes from the public, according to a press note from the office of the Commissioner of Police. The three accused were produced before court and remanded in police custody for nine days. Based on their information, three individuals who had fallen prey to the scam were apprehended from various locations in Andhra Pradesh on October 28. They confessed to being involved in the offence, and Rs 6 lakh worth of Rs 2,000 denomination notes were seized from them. They provided information about the person who altered the serial numbers, note series, and year printed on the notes. He was traced and apprehended from his residence in Yeshwanthpur on the same day, and Rs 6 lakh worth of Rs 2,000 denomination notes and equipment used for modifying the note details were seized, according to the press note. Rs 18 lakh worth of Rs 2,000 denomination notes were seized. On November 3, all the accused were produced before court, which remanded them in judicial custody.