20,000 Crore Worth New 2000 Rupee Notes Recovered from a BJP MLA: Fact Check

Story: 

Rs 20,000 Crore worth New 2000 Rupee Notes Recovered from BJP MLA Sudhir Gadgil’s Bolero Car

Other Versions

(Hindi)

बीजेपी विधायक सुधीर गडगिल की बोलेरो कार से बरामद 20 हजार करोड़ के नए नोटों के बंडल ये साफ दर्शाते हैं कि इनको नोटबंदी के पहले रुपए भेज दिए गए थे

Fact Check:

A story doing rounds heavily on social media sites in India claims that Rs 20,000 Crore worth New 2000 Rupee Notes were recovered from Bolero Car of BJP MLA Sudhir Gadgil. The story comes with two pictures, one showing Police officials standing behind a Bolero car carrying the alleged stack of money, and another showing a large bundle of newly released 2000 rupee notes in India. It is said that the recovery of large money clearly indicates that the new 2000 rupee notes were sent to the BJP MLA prior to the demonetization in India. Do not believe in the stories, for the claims are not at all facts, as described below.

Actual Facts

The first picture with officials standing behind the Bolero car actually shows an incident in Tuljapur of Osmanabad district (Maharashtra) on 14 November 2016 when officials found and took into custody 6 Crore rupees (not 20,000 Crores) of 500 and 1000 rupee notes inside the car. It was because there were no bank officials or security persons accompanying the cash. Later, upon investigation it was found that the money belonged to Sangli Urban Bank, the Chairman of which was Ganesh Gadgil, the brother of BJP Party Sangli MLA Sudhir Gadgil. In a press release, Ganesh Gadgil explained that the 6 Crore worth of banned 500 and 1000 rupee notes were coming from certain branches of Sangli Urban Bank (deposits after ban) and were being transferred to headquarters.

Ganesh Gadgil told ABP News that he got clean chit from verification, and that the Bolero car belonged to the Bank and the driver carried the necessary documents for the money. The second picture in story showing large stack of newly released 2000 rupee notes is certainly unrelated to the incident, and probably shows newly printed notes in some government office or bank.

So the claims that 20,000 crores worth of 2000 rupee notes were recovered from Bolero car of BJP MLA Sudhir Gadgil, suggesting he was sent money prior to the demonetization in India are simply hoaxes. Earlier, a disturbing video that went viral online in late November 2016 claimed to show that Delhi BJP MP Harshavardhan was beaten badly by angry Public outside a Bank, again regarding the Note Ban issue in India.

Hoax or Fact:

Hoax.

References:

Demonetisation: Rs 6 crore in banned notes seized in Osmanabad