Police in Assam seized around Rs 1.55 crore in the newly-issued Rs 2,000 notes and Rs 75,000 in Rs 500 bills from a Guwahati-based businessman’s house on Monday. Additional Director General of Police (Crime Investigation Department) Anil Kumar Jha said that a CID team had acted on a tip-off, PTI reported.

The accused, Hardie Singh Bedi, owns a hotel and bar and runs a shop rental business in the city. The case has been handed over to the Income Tax Department, officials said.

Since November 8, when the government demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes and introduced Rs 2,000 notes, the I-T Department has seized crores of rupees from banks and business establishments for malpractices. On December 9, Rs 106.52 crore in cash and gold bars weighing 127 kg were seized during raids at eight locations in Chennai. The same day, I-T officers found that more than Rs 100 crore in the scrapped currency had been deposited in 44 fake accounts at an Axis Bank branch in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk area.