Two booked for trying to get an exchange for fake ₹2,000 notes at banks

Two individuals have been accused of trying to deposit counterfeit INR2,000 ($27) notes in separate incidents. The Reserve Bank of India has withdrawn the notes, although they are still legal tender, and can be deposited or exchanged at bank counters up to 10 notes per day until the end of the month.

MUMBAI: In two separate cases, two persons allegedly tried to deposit counterfeit ₹2,000 notes in banks in order to exchange them. The police have registered cases against the two persons and are probing the source from where they received the fake notes.

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has withdrawn the ₹2,000 notes from circulation, although it continues to remain legal tender and people can either deposit the notes in their bank accounts or get exchanged at bank counters - up to 10 notes a day - till September 30.

On Thursday, the deputy manager of the Lamington Road branch of Yes Bank Sagar Pol lodged a complaint with the DB Marg police, stating that ten fake notes of ₹2,000 denomination were found by their cashier. In further inquiries, it was found that the notes were deposited by one Piyush Vinayvanya.

Piyush who works at the Opera House for one Rajesh Mali had deposited 700 notes of ₹2,000 denomination in three of Yes Bank accounts and the cashier had found around 10 of those notes were fake. “We have registered a case and questioned Piyush who has been claiming that the notes, which had fewer security features and a harder paper, were given to them by one of their customers. But we are not accepting his theory yet. We have booked him for using genuine, forged or counterfeit currency notes or bank notes and possession of forged or counterfeit currency notes or bank notes,” said the police officer.

In another incident, the Tardeo police registered a case on the complaint lodged by the manager of the Tardeo branch of HDFC Bank, Satish Mahajan. According to Mahajan, one person identified as Navid Shaikh brought ₹20,000 in the form of notes of ₹2,000 denomination for exchange and when they placed the notes in the cash counting machine, they were flagged for lacking all security features and thus were found to be fake.

“We questioned Shaikh who told us that his employer Israr Ahmed Shaikh handed him the notes for exchange. He works at a mobile accessories shop in Nagpada and he works there as a salesman. We questioned the owner who had told us that he had got the notes from his customers. However, the claim is yet to be verified,” said the police officer.

Last week, a duo was arrested by the LT Marg police for around ₹42 lakh paid by the jeweller in ₹2,000 notes for certain jewellery. The duo had, however, failed to deliver the jewellery and also did not return the money, thinking that the jeweller, Manish Soni, would not report the incident to the police for he would be questioned for possession of so many ₹2,000 notes.