Elderly woman in police custody for exchanging fake notes

An elderly woman was taken into custody for allegedly trying to exchange fake currency notes with a face value of Rs 37,000 at the State Bank of India’s Kondotty branch in Malappuram district on Saturday, police said.

Police said 65-year-old Mariyumma went to the branch on Saturday morning to deposit Rs 49,500 into her account. Bank officials, who checked the notes-all in Rs 1000 denomination-found Rs 37,000 to be fake out of the total amount.

On a complaint from the branch manager, she was taken into custody, they said.

The woman has claimed that the money was meant for house construction. Both her children were working in the Gulf, police said, adding, further details could be known only after investigation.

Banks across the city continued to witness heavy rush with people queuing up early to exchange and deposit Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes.

Heavy rush was also witnessed at ATMs which opened, after filling of cash, in the morning but went dry within hours.