08 June,2017 06:00 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
35-year-old employee of Mumbai Port Trust, was jailed for 19 days, after being arrested on charges that the currency notes he deposited at a bank during the demonetisation drive were counterfeit
Representational picture
35-year-old Shivaji Pawar, an employee of the Mumbai Port Trust, was jailed in November for 19 days, after being arrested on charges that the currency notes he deposited at a bank during the demonetisation drive were believed to be counterfeit. He was released on December 7, 2016, after it was established that they were indeed genuine.
According to The Times of India, Pawar, who was sacked following his arrest, approached the Bombay High Court in order to seek compensation. His lawyer says the Pydhonie police had received a report that the notes were authentic on December 1 itself, a week before Pawar's release. The advocate further stated that his client's increment was halted for a year after his reinstatement.
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Pawar went to Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank's Carnac Bunder branch near Sandhurst Road on November 19, 2016 to deposit 93 notes of Rs 1,000, which were banned following demonetisation. The Pydhonie police were approached by the bank's authorities, after the clerk informed his superiors that the notes were not genuine.
This led to the arrests of Pawar and another person under charges of possessing fake currency. A report that the notes were indeed real, was sent from Nashik Press, after the ink used on them was deemed to be authentic.
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The court has questioned the lapse by the police despite receiving a report 6 days before Pawar's release that the notes were real. The compensation for each day of illegal detention has been quantified to Rs 1 lakh as per this. A hearing has been scheduled in the matter on July 5, 2017.
