At least Rs 1.64 crore in undisclosed income and other inconsistencies have been found in bank accounts opened under the Centre’s Jan Dhan Yojana scheme during a countrywide investigation carried out by the Income Tax Department, PTI reported on Saturday. Department officials said suspicious activity had been detected in bank accounts in cities such as Kolkata, Kochi and Varanasi.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes said they had seized Rs 40 lakh from an account in Bihar. “Undisclosed income so detected will be brought to tax as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, apart from other actions depending upon the outcome of investigations,” the CBDT said. Accounts in at least six more cities are being investigated by the department.

The CBDT urged account holders “not to consent to any kind of misuse of their accounts, which would expose them to the dangers of being held responsible for tax evasion by unscrupulous elements”. As per official data, approximately Rs 21,000 crore has been deposited in such accounts till November 23 following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes by the Centre on November 8.

However, the reported misuse of such accounts to launder money has led to the government and the Reserve Bank of India trying to curb such illegalities. On November 30, the RBI set a temporary monthly withdrawal limit of Rs 10,000 for Jan Dhan bank accounts. The central bank said accounts, which were fully compliant with Know Your Customer norms, would be allowed to withdraw money till the monthly limit.