3 CCB cops rob bus conductor of Rs 1 cr in banned notes

An assistant sub-inspector and two head constables are accused of robbing a BMTC bus conductor and another man of Rs 1 crore in demonetised currency in Sheshadripuram, Central Bengaluru,  on November 25.  

Hombalegowda, the ASI, and  head constables Narasimhamurthy and Gangadhar have gone  incommunicado after being suspended.  Efforts are underway to apprehend and interrogate them to ascertain if they committed the crime at the behest of senior officials.

The policemen's arrest is being seen as part of the  currency exchange racket that is still thriving in the city.

It all started when  Subanna S Managi (36), the bus conductor, and Venkatesh, a  currency exchange agent, went to the High Grounds police station to complain that three people in a Maruti Swift,  claiming to be cops from the Sheshadripuram police station, had robbed them of  Rs 1 crore in demonetised currency.  

Managi and Venkatesh had initially gone to the Sheshadripuram police station but were shocked upon learning that no such raid was conducted. They then approached the  High Grounds police station.  Since the matter pertained to demonetised notes, police booked the duo under the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017.

Managi told the police how he got the banned currency. He had taken a  home loan of Rs 75 lakh and had to pay an EMI of  Rs 1 lakh. But things became difficult for him. He asked a real estate agent named Satyanarayana for money. Satyanarayana suggested  that he repay the loan by getting involved in the currency exchange racket.

Managi came on board.  He was asked to meet two women  - Ratna and Ranjani  - in  BTM Layout on November 25 and take Rs  1 crore in old notes from them. He did as told. Thereafter, as per further instructions,  he went to meet  Venkatesh on Race Course Road to exchange the notes.  Around 8 pm, while he and Venkatesh were counting the cash in a car, the three policemen waylaid them, snatched the notes and fled.  

When police investigated Managi's complaint, they found the three men were actually Central Crime Branch (CCB) policemen.  When questioned, the trio claimed they just wanted to replace Rs 3-crore demonetised currency stolen from the CCB's strongroom where all scrapped banknotes were stored.  

DCP (Central) Chandragupta said they were investigating whether the CCB policemen were acting at the behest of senior officers.  

N Satheesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), said: "We are counting the cash in the strongroom based on the record of raids."  

Earlier this year, the CCB had seized Rs 3 crore in scrapped notes from  a Tamil Nadu  businessman.  A source in the central police division said  the CCB policemen got the  money exchanged and pocketed Rs 24 lakh. But the businessman filed a complaint, forcing the  CCB to  conduct more raids to cover it up.