Odisha: People throng RBI office to exchange ₹ 2,000 notes as deadline passes, police verify their identity | Here's why

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₹ 2,000 currency notes at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) counter in Bhubaneswar were reportedly quizzed by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Police on Wednesday. Their Aadhar cards were verified and they were questioned about their occupation in a bid to find out if they were acting as agents for others, a PTI report said. The move came after several reports claimed that a few people were engaged to exchange ₹ 2,000 currency notes on a wage basis.

According to a PTI report published by NDTV on Thursday, the "agents" are believed to be paid ₹ 300 as wage for exchanging ₹ 20,000 at the RBI counter. Earlier this week, Money Control reported that "middlemen" operating outside the RBI office in Delhi were allegedly charging ₹400 commission to exchange ₹2,000 notes. In the wake of these allegations, the Odisha Police's EOW team reached the RBI office in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday and questioned people standing in the queue to find out of they were agents.

An EOW official told PTI that officials "verified the Aadhaar card of the people standing in the queue to exchange ₹ 2,000 currency notes and also asked them about their occupation". Another official was quoted as saying that many in the queue were seen holding exactly 10 pieces of ₹ 2,000 currency notes. "How come most of the people in the queue have exactly 10 pieces of ₹ 2,000 currency notes? There is reason to doubt whether the people in the queue are genuine or engaged by some other to get the money exchanged on their behalf," the official said.