The lockers are being searched in the Bank of Maharashtra in Pune. (Representational Image)
Multiple lockers of a Bank of Maharashtra branch in Pune were searched today by the Income Tax Department after a tip off that a private firm might have deposited nearly Rs 10 crores in them, both in new and old currency, post the November 8 announcement of the banning of old 500 and 1,000-rupee notes.
The branch is located in Pune's Parvati area. The Income Tax officials conducted searches after they got inputs that a huge amount of cash has been deposited in the lockers by the private firm.
"The lockers are being searched in the Bank of Maharashtra in Pune. The seizures will be effected soon," said a senior Income Tax Department official.
Even as the counting of the cash is being carried out, the Income Tax department has asked for cooperation from the bank authorities to obtain all transactions of the private firm in that branch.
"Prima facie Bank of Maharashtra has no role in this, as the branch had allowed only two withdrawals of Rs 50,000 to the firm which has an account with the branch. It is possible that the firm officials brought the money from outside and kept in the lockers," a senior official of Bank of Maharashtra told Press Trust of India.
The official also said, "Income Tax department is conducting the operation and source of the cash will be ascertained."