Bizman arrested for circulating fake coins minted by Haryana gang

The Delhi police officials said that during their investigation, they found that a man in Mumbai had been taking huge quantities of fake coins to sell the same to shopkeepers and priests in temples and other religious places where coins are in demand and devotees ask for a change to donate and other ceremonies

Mumbai: A 45-year-old businessman from Malad was arrested on Thursday evening for allegedly circulating fake coins of the denominations ₹1, ₹2, ₹5 and ₹10, made of copper and brass.

Bizman arrested for circulating fake coins minted by Haryana gang

The arrested accused identified as Jignesh Gala was a member of a gang from Haryana which manufactured the coins and sold them in different parts of the country.

In a joint investigation, the Dindoshi police and Delhi police had to empty donation boxes of three temples to recover the fake coins circulated by the accused and which had ended up in the donation boxes.

According to Jeevan Kharat, senior police inspector of Dindoshi police station, last week the Delhi police officers raided the factory in Haryana and arrested five members of the gang.

“The Delhi police officials said that during their investigation, they found that a man in Mumbai had been taking huge quantities of fake coins to sell the same to shopkeepers and priests in temples and other religious places where coins are in demand and devotees ask for a change to donate and other ceremonies,” said Kharat.

The officers also learnt that Gala, who resides in the Pushpa Park area in Malad West, imported and sold machines to other gangs in India, enabling them to mint fake coins. Upon locating Gala, the police found that he had been travelling in his van.

“We intercepted the van on Thursday night and searched it when we found fake coins of the face value of ₹10 lakh stuffed in plastic bags in the van,” said Kharat.

The team of officers including police inspector Somil Sharma, assistant police inspector Gokul Patil, and Delhi police officers arrested Gala and seized the coins.

Kharat said that at many religious places, devotees need a change in coins for donating to beggars and poor people and also for putting the same in donation boxes. As some of the fake coins minted by the gang had landed in donation boxes of some of the temples, the police had to spend hours emptying donation boxes from the temples where Gala had supplied the fake coins to recover the fake coins as evidence,” said a police officer from Dindoshi police station.

“Gala has been arrested and handed over to Delhi police for further investigation,” said Kharat.