Rs 410 crore in demonetised notes exchanged at BOne centres

BENGALURU: BangaloreOne centres that accepted old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for a few weeks after the demonetisation announcement in November 2016, are at the centre of a Rs 410 crore scam alleged to have been perpetrated by senior Congress leaders in the state, BJP spokesperson N R Ramesh alleged on Saturday. 

At a press conference, Ramesh said that for a duration of 141 days till March 31, 2017, old notes of Rs 500 and Rs1,000 denomination were collected at 93 BangaloreOne centres. “BangaloreOne centres provide around 117 services including collecting bills for various departments including BBMP, BWSSB, BDA, BESCOM and many other civic agencies. In the same duration (November 2016 to March 2017), Rs 544.96 crore was collected, of which Rs 410 crore was in notes of Rs 500 and Rs 100,” Ramesh said alleging that Congress leaders had taken these valid notes and provided BangaloreOne with demonetised notes in exchange. 

“Some officials, the company which is looking after BengaluruOne and some senior Congress leaders also are involved,’’ he alleged. Ramesh also demanded that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy hand over the case to CBI. “I have registered a case at Lokayukta and also before Enforcement Directorate,’’ he said.