Mumbai: A huge controversy regarding Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 400 cr is currently rocking the Nashik police. Two truck containers containing the cash which was sent from Karnataka to Gujarat in October 2025 was allegedly stolen midway in a sensational heist at Chorla ghat in the Maharashtra-Karnataka border.
Complaint by Nashik Real Estate Agent
According to a police complaint filed by a Nashik-based real estate agent Sandeep Patil the consignment was sent by a builder from Karnataka to an ashram in Ahmedabad for being converted into legal tender. The money was apparently to be used by a Thane-based politician who is reported to be close to the builder.
Preliminary findings, according to sources, indicate that the cash was linked to one of the state’s active political parties and was being moved for election-related expenditure, but was allegedly stolen before it could be utilised. The complaint has also levelled serious allegations against certain police personnel, particularly from Nashik, accusing them of unofficially tracking the money on the instructions of a Thane-based builder and a political functionary. Patil told the Nashik police that even though he had nothing to do with the theft, he was accused of masterminding it by certain persons close to the politician and builder. Patil was also threatened with death following which he filed a complaint with the superindent of police, Nashik (rural), who asked Goti police to probe the matter.
Details of the Cash Consignment
According to the complaint, a consignment of demonetised Rs 2,000 notes valued at around Rs 400 crore was dispatched on October 16 last year from an unidentified location near the Karnataka border in two containers. The cash was allegedly destined for Gujarat, where it was to be converted into smaller, legal denominations, before being routed back to Maharashtra for election-related activities and political manoeuvring.
The complainant has alleged that the demonetised currency belonged to a prominent Thane-based builder and his associate, purportedly linked to a regional political party. As per the stated arrangement, the cash was to be delivered to a Gujarat-based ashram, which was expected to receive Rs 400 crore in demonetised Rs 2,000 notes and, in return, provide Rs 170 crore in legal tender to the builder under a 60:40 commission-based exchange arrangement. Sources said the converted funds were allegedly meant to be channelled to a political leader for election campaigning and post-poll political activities.
Following the alleged heist, Gujarat-based hawala operator linked to the ashram is said to have informed a Nashik police officer that the Thane-based builder was demanding the return of his money despite the consignment not reaching the ashram. As per the alleged understanding, responsibility for the security of the cash during transit rested with the builder and not with the ashram.The complainant Patil has submitted a video recording of the conversation between the police officer and the hawala operator to the authorities.
Audio and Video Evidence Submitted
Patil has submitted audio recordings, videos and digital files to senior police officers, claiming these contain conversations involving police personnel, the builder and the hawala operator. In one such recording, the hawala operator is allegedly heard telling a police officer that he would attempt to mediate between the builder and the ashram, while asserting that the ashram had no role in the alleged heist. He added that the ashram had been operating in the black money field for years.
The complaint further alleges that several senior police officials and personnel from the Nashik Local Crime Branch (LCB) were aware of the alleged heist but did not report the matter to higher authorities for more than two months. Instead,the stolen cash was allegedly tracked unofficially on the instructions of the builder and a political leader, given the purported election funding angle.
The situation allegedly escalated after unknown persons contacted the builder through a VoIP call, demanding Rs100 crore in legal tender notes in Rs 100, Rs 200 and Rs500 denominations, in exchange for returning the demonetised consignment. The builder allegedly shared the name and photograph of the complaint Sandeep Datta Patil, claiming his involvement in the heist.
Based on this information, Patil has alleged that he was abducted from the Ghoti area of Nashik on October 22, 2025, by individuals including police personnel and associates of the Gujarat-based hawala operator.
In his complaint, Patil stated that eight to ten men arrived in two vehicles, a Fortuner and an Ertiga, forcibly took him into one of the vehicles, assaulted him and threatened him at gunpoint. He further alleged that he was compelled to participate in video calls with the builder and the hawala operator, during which he was threatened with death unless the money was recovered. Patil has denied any role in the alleged robbery and claimed he was later abandoned on a highway in Nashik.
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Probe Underway Says Local Crime Branch Officer
Local Crime Branch (Rural) officer Ravindra Magar confirmed that the matter is being examined. “The complaint has been forwarded to Ghoti police station for investigation into the alleged kidnapping and related allegations. The amount involved is around Rs 400 crore. Since no formal complaint of robbery was registered earlier and there are no direct witnesses, a detailed probe is required,” he said.
Patil has further alleged that a police officer involved in his kidnapping later narrated details of the alleged heist to him, claiming that the perpetrators had contacted the builder via a VoIP call, demanded Rs 100 crore and shared Patil’s name and photograph to falsely implicate him. He also alleged that the officer told him that senior police officials had been assigned to trace the money unofficially as the matter involved political funding, and warned him of serious consequences if he attempted to lodge any complaint.
Citing threats to his life, Patil said he initially refrained from filing a complaint. He has now submitted video call recordings and other digital evidence, which he claims show conversations between police personnel, the builder and the hawala operator, including alleged assurances of rewards if the consignment was successfully traced.
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