28,000 fake notes of Rs 2000 seized post demonetisation; Gujarat tops list

Gujarat topped the charts among the seizures made by the NIA with the recovery of 22,479 fake Rs 2,000 notes

Post demonetisation of currency notes of the denominations of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 and the introduction of the new legal tender of Rs 2,000, law enforcement agencies across the country have seized around 28,000 fake notes of Rs 2,000. 

Gujarat accounted for 95% of the total seizure of fake Rs 2,000 notes across the country since November 9, 2016.(Shankar Mourya/HT File Photo)

The government on Wednesday informed the Parliament that the Border Security Force (BSF) at the Indo-Bangladesh border seized 378 fake notes of Rs 2,000 in West Bengal and Assam with a value of Rs 7.56 lakh. 

Similarly, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized 22,677 fake notes of Rs 2,000. Gujarat topped the charts among the seizures made by the NIA with the recovery of 22,479 fake Rs 2,000 notes. The Gujarat police also effected seizure of 4,251 fake notes of Rs 2,000. In all, Gujarat accounted for 95% of the total seizure of fake Rs 2,000 notes across the country. 

Read | Here’s your guide on how to spot a fake Rs 2000 note

Police in 10 states also reported recoveries of 12,956 fake notes of Rs 500 post demonetisation. Gujarat again came out on top, with the seizure of 8,720 fake notes of Rs 500, followed by West Bengal with 3,857 recoveries. 

The government clarified that as far as seizure of fake Rs 500 notes is concerned, the states had not given a break-up of old and new currency. 

Kiren Rijiju, minister of state for home, informed lawmakers that the total seizure of the face value of Rs 6.2 crore has taken place since demonetisation. “All these cases are under investigation, including the source of fake currency,” he said. 

The security agencies believe that the seized fake notes are not of high quality.