The Jagraon police on Tuesday arrested the alleged mastermind behind a counterfeit currency printing racket, officials said.
They added that the accused, Harbhagwan Singh alias Mithun of Moga’s Baghelewala village, had been on the run for around seven months and was arrested by Jagraon CIA staff. Harbhagwan was evading arrest since the racket was busted earlier this year.
Accused says he learned printing techniques from YouTube videos
During questioning, the accused said he learned counterfeit currency printing techniques from YouTube videos. He said that earlier, they (the racket) used to print counterfeit currency of ₹500 denominations but switched to ₹100 and ₹200 after realising that the bigger notes faced more scrutiny.
He said shopkeepers used to scan ₹500 notes before accepting them and there were chances of them landing in trouble.
The accused was produced before a court on Tuesday and sent to two days in police custody for questioning.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Dharminder Singh said police arrested Kuldeep Singh alias Bengali from Lande village seven months ago. Kuldeep Singh had arrived at the Chawkimann bus stand to supply counterfeit notes.
The police recovered fake notes worth ₹5,800 from his possession and a case was registered at the Sadar police station. Police booked Harbhagwan based on information provided by Kuldeep Singh.
{{/usCountry}}The police recovered fake notes worth ₹5,800 from his possession and a case was registered at the Sadar police station. Police booked Harbhagwan based on information provided by Kuldeep Singh.
{{/usCountry}}The ASI said the duo resumed printing counterfeit notes shortly after being released from jail three years ago. They were arrested for similar offences then as well, he said. The accused confessed that Kuldeep handled the distribution of the counterfeit notes and Harbhagwan was responsible for printing them. The ASI said police are probing the case as they suspect a ‘wider network’ is involved in the operation.