NIA to confront driver on cash trail in ₹17.29-cr fake note case

Contractual driver Adesh Choudhary’s custodial interrogation to focus on access to currency chest, movement of cash and links with arrested manager Amit Kumar

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is set to question contractual driver Adesh Choudhary on the cash trail and electronic evidence gathered in the ₹17.29-crore counterfeit currency case at Punjab National Bank’s Saharanpur currency chest, with investigators focusing on how cash was accessed, moved and allegedly substituted.

For representation only (Sourced)

Choudhary, arrested on Wednesday, is the second key accused to be taken into custody after PNB currency chest manager Amit Kumar was arrested by the NIA on September 7. Investigators expect to examine Choudhary’s role in handling cash and his alleged links with Kumar.

Sources said the agency is likely to scrutinise Choudhary’s movements around the currency chest, his role in loading and unloading consignments and his contacts with bank employees and others handling cash. His account will be matched with CCTV footage, duty records, currency registers, dispatch documents and digital evidence.

A key question is whether counterfeit notes entered the currency chest from outside or whether genuine currency was removed and replaced with fake notes during handling or dispatch.

The NIA is also reconstructing the movement of a ₹111-crore cash consignment sent from Saharanpur to the Reserve Bank of India’s Jaipur office on July 6. It comprised 1,900 bundles of ₹500 notes and 800 bundles of ₹200 notes.

Packing, counting, verification and dispatch records are being examined to establish who handled the cash at each stage and whether counterfeit notes could have been mixed with genuine currency before the consignment left the chest.

The agency is also checking whether counterfeit notes moved beyond the Saharanpur chest through other bank branches, ATMs or currency chests.

Investigators are examining whether the counterfeit currency was accompanied by a shortage of genuine notes. Establishing such a discrepancy could help determine whether the alleged operation involved substitution of genuine currency.

The financial dealings of suspects and others linked to cash handling are also likely to be scrutinised, including bank accounts, property transactions, vehicle purchases and digital payments. Any unexplained transactions will have to be independently corroborated before being linked to the alleged offence.

The NIA is expected to compare the accounts of Kumar and Choudhary, particularly on access to the currency chest, movement of cash and their communications.

The case began with an FIR at Sadar Bazar police station on August 29 following the recovery of counterfeit currency with a face value of ₹17.29 crore. The NIA re-registered the case on September 3 and is probing the source of the counterfeit notes, their entry into the banking system and how they reached the Saharanpur currency chest.