Where's The New Currency? Two Held In Gujarat With Rs 2.9 Lakhs Bribe With New Rs 2,000 Notes

At a time when the new Rs 2,000 currency notes are insufficient in circulation and there is a strict cap on the dispensation of money over the bank counters, anti-corruption officials have been left baffled after they arrested two Gujarat port trust officials for accepting bribe.

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They had demanded a sum of Rs 2.9 lakhs to clear pending bills of a private electrical firm. According to NDTV, the officials recovered the entire amount - in Rs 2,000 notes which came into circulation less than a week ago.

It is not yet clear how someone managed to get such a huge amount of currency in this short span of time, when there is a daily withdrawal limit of ?Rs 2,500 through the ATMs and Rs 4,500 over the bank counters.

According to reports the officials, superintending engineer P Srivivasu and Sub Divisional officer K Komtekar had sought Rs 4.5 lakhs in bribe to clear the bill and had agreed to take the first share it, Rs 2.5 lakhs through a middleman.?

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The duo along with the ?middleman was arrested after the anti-corruption officials set a trap for them after the cash transfer happened.

This is not the first time the new currency has been recovered from those caught for accepting bribe.

On Tuesday, three officials of the Madhya Pradesh state education board were arrested in Bhopal for allegedly taking bribe of Rs 25,000, including five Rs 2,000 notes, from a clerk.

While the corruption and bribes are nothing new in India, the two incidents have been reported within days after the government carried out the overhaul of the currencies claiming that it will help end corruption.