Banned notes worth Rs 30 cr seized in Bengaluru

Bengaluru, April 14 (IANS) Demonetised currency notes worth Rs 30 crore were seized from a former corporator's house in the city's western suburb, police said on Friday.

"We found the illegal cash in the house of ex-corporator Nagaraj, 54, during a search conducted on a court warrant in a criminal case and seized the banned notes in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination," Hennur Police Station Inspector N. Srinivas told IANS.

Nagaraj was not present when the police knocked at his house around 5.00 a.m., as he allegedly fled on learning about the search team.

Police also faced resistance from Nagaraj's family in entering the house and had to break open the main door with the help of a blacksmith for the search operation.

"As the search operation is continuing, further details will be given later," said Srinivas.

Nagaraj is alleged to have been involved in converting black money into white by exchanging the old currency notes since they were banned on November 8.

He was elected as an Independent corporator of the Bangalore Municipal Corporation in 2002 from the Prakashnagar civic ward in the city's west.

He also contested the 2013 state assembly elections from the Gandhinagar segment in the city centre as a candidate of the Badavara Sharmikara Raitara Congress (BSR-Congress) but lost to ruling Congress nominee and former minister Gundu Rao.

The ex-corporator is alleged to have recently kidnapped a city businessman for ransom and is also facing criminal charges of laundering unaccounted money.