Patna, July 28: Currency notes of Rs 5,000 denomination are doing the rounds in Bihar, or so the vigilance bureau sleuths would want people to believe.

Investigators of the Bihar State Vigilance Investigation Bureau claimed to have stumbled upon these currency notes during a raid in Sasaram and even recorded the seizure in a first information report.

The claim was later dismissed as “human error” by vigilance bosses in Patna.

The Reserve Bank of India has released Indian currency notes up to a maximum denomination of Rs 1,000 only.

Deputy superintendent of police Maharaja Kanishka Kumar Singh, who is a complainant in the vigilance police station case (No 57/2010), said a bureau team recovered 239 notes of Rs 5,000 denomination during a raid at an examination centre at Sasaram in Rohtas district on July 23.

The raid was conducted following a tip-off that employees of a private technical institute were collecting money from students of the 2008-10 session on the pretext of helping them through the examination.

The raiding team claimed to have recovered a total of 239 notes in the denomination of Rs 5,000 from the possession of one Sanjay Prasad.

In the FIR, a copy of which is in the possession of The Telegraph, the bureau said the money was collected from 104 students of the institute who were appearing at the examination.

The raiding team comprising Yogendra Paswan (inspector) and Rasheed Imam (constable) was led by the DSP himself. Three persons were taken into custody during the operation.

Reserve Bank officials in Patna were taken aback when informed about the seizure of currency notes of the denomination of Rs 5,000.

“As per our information, currency notes of up to a maximum denomination of Rs 1,000 only are in circulation. If you have any note in the denomination of Rs 5,000, send it to RBI,” said P.B. Tripathy, personal secretary to the RBI’s regional director.

He said RBI had not so far received any information about the recovery of currency notes of the denomination of Rs 5,000.

“We will look into the matter if such complaints come to our office,” Tripathy said. He added that currency notes of Rs 5,000 denomination had not been seized by any Indian investigating agencies either.

Senior officials of the vigilance bureau too expressed surprise. “This may be a human error,” additional director-general of police (vigilance) Anil Sinha said.

He immediately called senior deputy superintendent of police P.N. Mishra to verify the matter.

The mistake was detected. “We will correct the mistake. A letter is being sent to the Special Vigilance Court for necessary correction,” Sinha said.

He told The Telegraph that a total Rs 2,07,515 was seized during the operation carried out by a Patna bureau team with the help of the Sasaram district police personnel.