Rs 1,300 crore deposited in 15 bank accounts?

Guwahati: In what has created a sensation in Arunachal Pradesh, more than Rs 1,300 crore, suspected to be black money, was deposited in the accounts of public and private bank in the state.

Though, SBI officials refused to divulge the specific bank details, sources in the bank admitted that they have recorded the deposit of Rs 800 crore in the state soon after demonetisation.

A local daily of Itanagar, the Eastern Sentinel, claimed that Rs 1,300 crore was deposited in 15 bank accounts of SBI in Itanagar after demonetisation of currency. The editor of the newspaper claimed that they published the story three days back on the basis of information provided by SBI officials. “The bank has neither contradicted our story nor clarified it as yet,” the editor of the local daily said.

Security sources said that a huge amount of old currency was also deposited in the Arunachal Pradesh State Cooperative Apex Bank branches of the state.

In absence of core-banking facilities with the Apex Bank, security sources said that bank officials have not been able to reconcile their accounts as yet. Security sources said that there were reports of bank officials functioning till late in the night and taking deposits even after the banking hours.

Claiming that banks have informed the authorities about these deposits, sources said suspicion on clandestine transactions in the frontier state started following the suicide of a HDFC branch manager at Naharlagun in a mysterious circumstance.   

Pointing out that HDFC branch manager Rituparna Gohain has also left a suicide note, in which he confessed and named few contractors and politicians who exchanged and deposited demonetised currency in his branch to which he could reconcile in the accounts of the bank, security sources said. The suicide note is with the with police.

Asserting that a huge of amount of currency was smuggled to Itanagar from Assam only a day after demonetisation of currency, security sources said that the HDFC branch manager was under pressure from various quarters to justify their clandestine exchange and deposits. Though, police is tight-lipped about the suicide note as it may open Pandora’s box.

Indicating that many political leaders from Assam routed their black money through banks in Arunachal Pradesh, security sources said that a large number of new accounts were also opened after the demonetisation to adjust and transfer the black money from the accounts of local residents of Arunachal Pradesh. It is significant local residents of the state are not required to pay any tax on their income.

Security sources, stressing the need of a thorough investigation into all the transaction of Arunachal Pradesh banks, said that there were reports of exchange of money at large scale from remote districts of the state.

As per section 10(26) of the Income Tax Act, a member of a Scheduled Tribe residing in any area specified in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution is exempted from paying tax on any income that accrues from any source in the concerned area or state.

The states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura are notified as sixth schedule area.

The Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong and Bodoland Territorial Area District in Assam has also been notified as sixth schedule area.