Rs 87 cr cash, 2,600 kg gold, silver detected at airports since note ban

The maximum suspect cash detection over Rs 33 crore has been made at the Mumbai airport till now

 

Over Rs 87 crore suspect cash, 2,600 kg of gold and other precious metals were intercepted by the CISF at airports in a year since One year of Demonetisation, the latest data said.

The CISF, that is tasked to guard 59 civil airports in the country, was alerted by the finance ministry to check the suspicious movement of cash and other high-value items in the wake of the demonetisation of the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in November last year.

As per a data of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), between November 8, 2016-November 7-- the force detected Rs 87.17 crore suspect cash, 1,491.5 kg of gold and 572.63 kg of silver as part of its airports guarding task after the note ban was declared.

While the maximum suspect cash detection -- over Rs 33 crore -- has been made at the Mumbai airport till now, the highest volume of gold (over 498 kgs) has been interdicted at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, according to the data.

The highest volume of silver -- more than 266 kgs -- was detected at the Jaipur airport by the force, it added.

"All these instances and passengers apprehended with these high-value items were handed over to the Income Tax Department for further inquiry as per the law," a CISF spokesperson said.

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Demonetisation anniversary: It’s govt’s ‘anti-black money day’ vs Oppn’s ‘black day’

The Left parties will also demonstrate against the note ban across the country, as would the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar.

While the Narendra Modi government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have prepared to celebrate the first demonetisation anniversary of note ban as ‘anti-black money day’, the Opposition has plans to mark it as ‘black day’ and ‘dhokha divas’ (day of betrayal). Union ministers will fan out to address public meetings in cities across the country on Wednesday. There could be some interesting face-offs in states run by non-BJP governments.

 

After former prime minister Manmohan Singh addressed a press conference in poll-bound Gujarat on Tuesday, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to interact with traders in Surat on Wednesday. Rahul Gandhi is also slated to be part of a candlelight vigil to mark the ‘black day’ in the evening.

 

Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani is set to meet a delegation of businesspersons from Surat in New Delhi, before leaving for Lucknow to attend programmes related to 'anti-black money day'. Irani is also scheduled to flag off a digital ‘rath yatra’ organised by traders in Delhi.

In Kolkata, the minister of state for civil aviation, Jayant Sinha, will address a meeting in support of demonetisation, while the ruling Trinamool Congress will take out protest marches. Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra will hold a series of press conferences. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday termed the note ban a big scam.

In Chennai, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address meetings. While the ruling All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has decided to be neutral, the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has said its chief MK Stalin will lead the protests, along with leaders of the Congress and other parties, in Madurai. The DMK has decided not to take out the protests in eight rain-affected districts. However, the DMK will protest in rest of the districts.

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One year of demonetisation: I-T scanner on 80,000 cases for huge deposits

Soon after demonetisation, the I-T department had launched the first phase of Operation Clean Money, which began on January 31 and ended on February 15

 

One year of demonetisation of high-value currency notes, the income-tax (I-T) department has identified 80,000 “actionable cases” (people) who deposited cash of over Rs 10 lakh each in bank accounts but have no tax profile.

This is the new addition to the tax data, which had identified over 600,000 people for scrutiny over huge inconsistencies in the cash deposits made during the period under the two phases of Operation Clean Money — an exercise to identify black money stashed in the form of cash deposits in banks.

According to sources, the I-T department has sought explanations from these 80,000 people who have no record of income-tax filing in the system. Some of them deposited cash of more than Rs 20 lakh in the bank account but have never filed returns.

The findings are part of a status report on demonetisation which was prepared by the I-T department under the supervision of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). Sources said the report will be tabled in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) along with the action plan on what could be done further on the actionable cases. Interestingly, after examining some of the profiles of these people, their official income had no match with their cash deposits.

“We are currently collaborating the minute details of each person identified. The issue seems complex as the person’s testimonial and submission look financially weak. However, we are not concluding here and are trying to dig out the nuances of such deposits,” said a senior tax official privy to the development.

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