Bhadrak: Police have arrested three persons for allegedly selling Rs 2,000 notes to innocent people on the plea that those would bring good fortune in Odisha’s Bahdrak district.
According to police sources, Subal Kumar Choudhury, who introduced himself as a reporter of a media house in the area under Tentulikhunti police station of Nabarangpur district, is the mastermind of the racket. He was selling the Rs 2,000 currency notes, which have been withdrawn by the Reserve Bank of India, in the black market.
Subal was telling the innocent people of the remote areas that the pink coloured notes would not only remove the obstacles on their efforts for any work but also bring good fortune in terms of wealth and prosperity. Some people also believed him and purchased the notes at the rate Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per piece.
Meanwhile, Laxmidhar Pati of Baikunthapur village under Basudevpur police station in Bhadrak district came to know about Subal’s activities and contacted him. With the help of Subal, Laxmidhar also started running the racket in Basudevpur area.
Some people, who had bought the Rs 2,000 notes from Laxmidhar, realised that they had been duped as there was no change in their fortune and filed complaint against him at Basudevpur police station. During investigation, Basudevpur police came to know about Laxmidhar’s connection with Subal.
The IIC of Basudevpur police station, Lopamudra Nayak, said a police team conducted a raid on Baikunathapur and arrested Subal, Laxmidhar and another person.
The team also seized 51 currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination and 30 notes of Rs 500 amounting to total Rs 1.15 lakh from their possession. Further investigation is on to ascertain involvement of other persons in the racket, she added.
