Gandhi image missing on Rs 2,000 notes, MP bank says currency not fake

New Rs 2000 banknotes without Mahatma Gandhi’s image triggered panic among villagers in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district as they thought they were counterfeits.

A clutch of new Rs 2,000 banknotes without Mahatma Gandhi’s image triggered panic among villagers in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district, as they thought these bills were counterfeits.

The defective notes in Sheopur. Bank took back the notes with the ‘printing error’ and said they were not fake.(Mujeeb Faruqui/HT photo)

Bank officials assured later that the notes are good but a possible printing mistake removed the ever-familiar embossed picture of the Father of the Nation.

Some farmers in Badodha tehsil withdrew money from the local State Bank of India branch on Tuesday to discover that some Rs 2000 banknotes don’t have Mahatma Gandhi’s image.

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Laxman Meena, a farmer from Bichugaanvdi village, said: “I withdrew Rs 6,000. The cashier gave me three notes of Rs 2,000. When I reached home, my son told me that Gandhiji’s picture was missing in the banknote. My son told me it was fake.”

Meena said he immediately went to the bank but bank officials were reluctant to take any action.

Soon, another farmer Gurmeet Singh from Kadukheda village came to the bank with four notes without Mahatma Gandhi’s image.

The bank took the banknotes back but didn’t issue fresh currency, Meena said.

When contacted, SBI Badodha branch manager RD Meena told HT that these Rs 2,000 banknotes with missing picture of Gandhi were not fake.

“Somehow the notes have not been printed completely. So, we have taken the notes back,” he said.

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