‘Akbar Safai 2025’: Woman finds Rs 2,000 in old Rs 2,000 notes while cleaning Diwali

A routine Diwali cleaning led to a surprise discovery for one family when a Reddit user revealed that their mother found Rs 2,000 in a defunct Rs 2,000 note hidden in an old DTH set-top box.

Posting under the caption ‘Biggest Diwali Savai 2025’, the user said the pink packets were most likely kept there by their father when the cash withdrawal happened.

“During Diwali Savai, my mom found 2,000 old Indian Rs 2,000 notes… hidden inside an old DTH box that my dad probably kept there in demonetisation times. We haven’t told him yet. Please suggest how to move forward with this,” the user wrote on Reddit.

The photo of the carefully packed notes quickly went viral, attracting thousands of views and lively discussions in the comments. Several commentators reminded readers that the INR 2,000 note has been officially withdrawn from circulation by the Reserve Bank of India in 2023, and said holders should use designated RBI channels to exchange or deposit notes.

“You can take it to RBI,” one user said. In response, a user commented, “Rs 2 lakh is a lot of money bro – since it’s cash, it’s probably black money. RBI will question OP a lot. If you’re planning to take it to RBI, consult your CA first and get advice from him on what excuses to tell RBI.”

“It is still legal tender despite being phased out. You can only exchange it at designated RBI offices with a limit of 20 lakh,” a third user said.

A fourth user commented: “Feko mat ise mujhe de do (One person’s trash is another person’s treasure).”

“Just go to your nearest RBI bank and exchange after filling the declaration. These INR 2,000 notes are not demonetised, just removed from circulation. But just remember to exchange them in 5-10 batches, as exchanging INR 2,000 in one batch may put you in a little trouble. Different people will also help you,” said another user.