As many as 93 Jan Dhan accounts in Jharkhand’s Chatra district in have been frozen with immediate effect.
These accounts were shortlisted by the Bank of India after they were found to have received huge deposits after the demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs1,000 currency notes on November 8.
“A total of 93 bank accounts in lawalong and Simaria area of Chatra have been frozen as some suspicious transactions were made after demonetisation,” said Chatra Deputy Commissioner Sunil Singh on Wednesday.
“Now the account holders will not be able to withdraw a single penny till such directions are issued by the Bank of India’s headquarters,” he added.
Singh urged the people not to allow other people to use their accounts to launder dirty cash or they could face action from the I-T Department.
“Income Tax officials are keeping tabs on Jan Dhan accounts, old age pension and scholarship accounts to ensure that no unusual tractions are made in these accounts,” said the DC.
He also warned that accounts found to have suspicious deposits would be disqualified from all Government schemes.
Meanwhile, following reports that Maoists in Naxal-hit districts of Gumla, lohardaga, latehar and Chatra have been forcing villagers to deposit and exchange their ill-gotten money till things get normal, Jharkhand Police also made an appeal to Jan Dhan account holders not to deposit black cash in their accounts.
“In addition to that, a coordination meeting was also held recently with the bank officials to address their concerns in this regard,” said IG (Operations) and Jharkhand Police Spokesperson MS Bhatia.