Demonetized notes worth Rs 45 crore seized from Chennai tailoring shop

MV Ramalingam & Co is a tailoring store in Kodambakkam, the film district of Chennai. The shop specializes in stitching uniforms for government officers, including police personnel and costumes for special occasions. 
On Thursday, the local police station head received a call alerting him that the shop may have more than clothes in its wardrobe. Police turned up at the shop as soon as the shop opened, and the owner, Dhandapani, for a moment thought he was getting fresh business orders from the police department. He was proved wrong.
Police found Rs 45 crore (Dh25 million) in tightly packed bundles in gunny bags. Except that they were notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 from pre-demonetized times - just before November 8 when large denominations were made untenable. This is the single biggest recovery of old notes so far this year.
Dhandapani was questioned. At first, he expressed surprise that there was so much money in his wardrobe. On further questioning, he said the money was handed over to him by a builder, Pathan Gilani, from the bustling Pondy Bazar area. Gilani had requested Dhandapani to keep the money till he found a way of exchanging it for new notes.
Dhandpani said he was of a friendly nature and had agreed to keep the money in his shop for safekeeping on behalf of Gilani. Police suspect that may not be the case. They believe Dhandapani is a front for the rich who are stuck with old notes.
Police sources also said that the trail might lead to a jeweller. The jeweller in question has a jewellery shop as well as a finance firm. 
Police believe currency had piled up in the tailoring shop because they were not finding a way of exchanging the vast amounts of old money. 
Dhandapani said he had got nothing out of the deal. But the police officials said, the realtor had promised the tailor a commission in the event of an exchange. The police have made no arrests, though Dandapani has been taken into custody for questioning. "The case will be handed over to the Income Tax Department or the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence," the officer in charge of the case said.  
In March, the Chennai Police had seized demonetized notes amounting to Rs 1.02 crore and Rs 3.45 crore in two different incidents from people who were attempting to get them exchanged. 
In December, raids on the premises of a sand mining baron, Sekhar Reddy, and two of his associates had yielded  Rs 130.5 crore in old and new currencies and 177 kg of gold worth a little over Rs 55 crore. 
Police said they might now look up other tailoring firms in the area, inspired by the discovery of the Ramalingam shop doubling up as a sort of Fort Knox.

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