A case was registered under the Coinage Act 2011 against a trader, Naveen Samadia, at the Hathras kotwali police station on Monday, two days after the administration recovered 5663.3 kilograms of 1, 2, and 5 rupee coins stored in 106 plastic bags from his stationery shop and residence following a raid on August 1, officials said.
The case was registered under Section 12 (prohibition of making or melting or destruction of coins) and 13 of The Coinage Act 2011, which provides seven years’ imprisonment or a fine for violating Section 12 of the Act.
Satyendra Singh Raghav, the officer in charge of Hathras Kotwali police station, stated that it is probably the first case of its kind. The delay in registering the case was because no data on the Coinage Act was available on police station computers, he added.
“We contacted state authorities and finally sought assistance from the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) to register the case,” he said.
“The accused is on the run but will be arrested soon and will reveal his modus operandi,” the officer said.
The case was registered on the complaint of Shiv Kumar, the nayab tehsildar at Mursan tehsil of Hathras district. Kumar lodged the FIR against the accused Samadia after recovering the coins from his stationery shop at Naya Ganj market and residence in Hanuman Gali, Hathras.
{{/usCountry}}The case was registered on the complaint of Shiv Kumar, the nayab tehsildar at Mursan tehsil of Hathras district. Kumar lodged the FIR against the accused Samadia after recovering the coins from his stationery shop at Naya Ganj market and residence in Hanuman Gali, Hathras.
{{/usCountry}}The FIR states that following a tip-off, a raid was conducted on August 1 and the accused was allegedly involved in melting these coins and distributing them to others.
After the team led by the nayab tehsildar found 1, 2, and 5-rupee coins stored at the accused’s house, they weighed them on a balance since counting them was not possible due to their sheer volume.
The recovery included 77 plastic bags each containing coins weighing a total of 60 kilograms, six bags each having 50 kg of coins, five bags each with coins weighing 30 kilograms, a bag having 20 kg of coins, and another bag with 53.5 kg of coins.
A total of 90 plastic bags with coins weighing 5143.5 kilograms were recovered from the house and 16 bags with a total of 422.8 kilograms of coins were seized from the shop, the complainant said.
Police and administration are now focusing on finding out whether there was a network beyond Hathras district.
People familiar with the matter said Naveen Samadia collected these coins from traders in Hathras and conducted the illegal trade on a commission basis.
Both his shop and house are in old and densely populated areas of Hathras, away from the police and administration’s glare.
Initial reports suggested that many of these coins were supplied to nearby religious cities of Mathura and Vrindavan where they are in demand among devotees making offerings at temples.