Seven employees of a company which loads cash in 128 ATMs of several banks here were on Thursday arrested for allegedly pilfering about Rs. 74 lakh in Rs. 100 and Rs. 2,000 denominations for converting black money into white at a commission.
Police also arrested three other persons and managed to recover Rs. 35 lakh from the gang, that had siphoned off about Rs. 1 crore in the past two years by short-filling the ATMs and manipulating the machines, according to probe.
The racket came to light when the Railway Protection Force caught one of the accused, Dasari Srinivas, after finding his demeanour suspicious and seized Rs. 15 lakh in the new Rs. 2,000 denomination at Samalkot in East Godavari on Tuesday. His questioning led to the discovery of the racket, police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Navin Gulati said that after the demonetisation, when demand for Rs. 100 and the newly introduced Rs. 2,000 notes increased, they pilfered Rs. 74 lakh in Rs. 100 and Rs. 2,000, meant for loading in ATMs. About Rs. 39 lakh of this amount was swapped for the defunct Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes at 25 per cent commission.
Those arrested were identified as D. Srinivas, B. Rambabu, P.V. Dora, R.G.V. Gowtham, L. Manoj Kumar, P. Nookayyasetty and K. Deepak Kumar, all employees of Scientific Security Management Services, which loads cash in 128 ATMs of the SBI, HDFC and few other banks here.
Three others arrested are S. Mahesh Babu, B. Satish Kumar and V. Kesava, who allegedly scouted for customers in need of Rs. 100 and Rs. 2,000 notes to convert the black money hoarded in defunct notes, police said. — PTI
