Efforts by vested interests in Tamil Nadu to subvert the demonetisation of currency notes of Rs500 and Rs1,000 denominations have come to light. Wednesday saw Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation’s General Manager Ilangovan suspending two cashiers of the corporation for colluding with outside agencies and exchanging the daily collection into currency notes of Rs500 and Rs1,000 denominations.
Officials of Canara Bank in Kumbakonam, where the TNSTC deposits its daily collection, were perplexed to see the corporation officials bringing in bundles of Rs500 and Rs1,000 currency notes from November 9. The usual deposit from the TNSTC used to be currency notes of small denominations. It came to light on Tuesday that the two cashiers were hand in glove with outside agencies and exchanged currencies of small values with high denomination notes supplied by the cartel.
Similarly, bank officials were in for a shock when they found that thousands of dormant Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts held by tribals in Jawadhu Hills in Thiruvanamalai district coming alive from November 9 as some strangers started depositing thousands of rupees on a daily basis to these accounts. A probe is on to find out the “good samaritans” who are on a deposit drive into these accounts of tribals who do not have any known source of livelihood. According to a lead banker, a branch in Thiruvannamalai, received Rs2.5 crore as deposit on a single day after the demonisation announcement by the Prime Minister.
Intelligence officials said many instances like these have come to their notice and all concerned Central Government agencies have been told about the development. “These are just two methods used by those with vast collection of black money and hawala money with them,” an intelligence official told The Pioneer.
A Madurai based Tamil nationalist KPT Ganesan has approached Madras High Court challenging the union Government for using Devanagari numerals in the newly introduced Rs2,000 currency notes. Though the Assistant Attorney General told the division bench hearing the petition that it was the Government’s prerogative to use the design of its choice, the court was not satisfied and adjourned the case asking the ASG to get the exact reason for using the Devanagari numerals.
Suresh Gopinath, a chartered accountant with practices in Kerala and Tamil Nadu said he was surprised by the quantum of black money held by some of his clients. “They are on a money laundering drive on a war footing. The migrant workers from Assam and Bengal working in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are being deployed by their employers to stand in queues in front of banks and ATMs to deposit large amounts into their accounts. It is a mafia like operation,” said Gopinath.