A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted by the police to investigate the alleged circulation and storage of counterfeit currency worth around ₹17 crore at Punjab National Bank’s (PNB) currency chest in Saharanpur, with police widening the probe to Haryana, Uttarakhand and neighbouring districts.
The initial value of the fake notes was calculated at ₹7.40 crore, but as the audit and verification of currency continued, the amount of counterfeit currency detected increased to around ₹17 crore.
The SIT, according to a senior police official, is going to piece together the sequence of events, identify the source of the counterfeit currency and determine whether the alleged replacement of genuine notes was an isolated act or part of a larger organised operation.
The development comes after PNB suspended three officials whose roles came under suspicion during the bank’s preliminary inquiry into the discovery of the fake currency. A departmental inquiry has also been initiated by the bank, while an investigation by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is underway.
The three suspended officials have been identified as Ravi Kumar Kansay, senior manager at PNB’s divisional office; Sushil Kumar Sharma, manager of the currency chest at Sophia Market; and Amit Kumar, manager of the PNB currency chest at Khera Bazaar in Yamunanagar-Jagadhri, Haryana.
{{/usCountry}}The three suspended officials have been identified as Ravi Kumar Kansay, senior manager at PNB’s divisional office; Sushil Kumar Sharma, manager of the currency chest at Sophia Market; and Amit Kumar, manager of the PNB currency chest at Khera Bazaar in Yamunanagar-Jagadhri, Haryana.
{{/usCountry}}PNB Meerut chief manager and nodal officer Arun Kumar Chaubey lodged a complaint at Sadar Bazaar police station, following which a case was registered against the three bank officials and part-time housekeeper Vishal Kumar.
Police are now examining whether the counterfeit notes were deliberately introduced into the currency chest in exchange for genuine currency and whether the alleged operation involved other bank employees.
Police are examining the entire chain of currency movement—from the point at which cash entered the currency chest to its storage, handling and subsequent dispatch to other currency chests.
Investigators are also scrutinising the roles of the three suspended officials and other employees who had access to the currency chest.
On Monday, DIG Abhishek Singh, district magistrate Arvind Kumar Chauhan and SSP Abhinandan Singh visited the PNB currency chest at Sophia Market and examined records relating to cash handling and movement.
A separate team from PNB headquarters is conducting an internal investigation, while RBI officials have also examined the currency chest and questioned bank employees.
Not ₹7.40 crore but ₹17 crore
The irregularity initially surfaced after a shortage was detected in currency sent from the PNB branch at Ghantaghar in Saharanpur to the RBI currency chest in Jaipur.
The bank had sent around ₹11.50 crore in currency to Jaipur on August 5. The cash included soiled, mutilated and other categories of notes. During counting at Jaipur, officials detected a shortage of ₹4,30,900 and informed PNB authorities in Meerut.
Following the discrepancy, PNB chief manager Arun Kumar Chaubey was sent to Saharanpur to investigate.
The initial investigation led to the examination of CCTV footage from inside the currency chest. During the subsequent audit, which began on August 9, officials found 148 bundles of counterfeit currency, each containing 1,000 ₹500 notes. The initial value of the fake notes was calculated at ₹7.40 crore.
As the audit and verification of currency continued, the amount of counterfeit currency detected increased to around ₹17 crore.
CCTV shows housekeeper removing notes from bundles
CCTV footage has emerged as a key component of the investigation.
According to the preliminary inquiry, footage shows part-time housekeeper Vishal Kumar removing notes from currency bundles while working inside the currency chest.
Vishal had reportedly been assigned the task of arranging currency bundles worth around ₹11.50 crore before the cash was sent to Jaipur.
After the CCTV footage came to light, PNB removed him from his duties and named him as an accused in the case.
Investigators are now trying to establish what happened to the genuine currency allegedly removed from the bundles, whether it was replaced with counterfeit notes and whether Vishal was acting independently or at the direction of others.
Three tainted officials fail to give satisfactory answers
During the preliminary inquiry, PNB questioned Ravi Kumar Kansay, Sushil Kumar Sharma and Amit Kumar about the presence of the counterfeit currency in the chest and the procedures followed while receiving, storing and dispatching cash.
According to the investigating officer, the three officials could not provide satisfactory explanations regarding how such a large quantity of counterfeit notes entered the currency chest and remained there.
The matter was subsequently reported to senior bank authorities. PNB then suspended all three officials and initiated a departmental inquiry.
Police are now examining their movements, duties, access to the currency chest and records maintained during the relevant period.
Raids in Haryana, Uttarakhand
Police teams have been conducting raids in Haryana, Uttarakhand and neighbouring districts in an attempt to trace people connected with the case.
Two of the bank officials named in the case are reportedly residents of Yamunanagar in Haryana. Investigators are examining their local connections and movements as part of the probe.
Police are also analysing banking records, currency dispatch details, CCTV footage and other documents to determine when the counterfeit notes entered the chest and how the alleged substitution of genuine currency was carried out.
Probe may widen to other bank staff
The investigation is not limited to the four people named in the case.
Police officials said the role of other employees could be examined if evidence emerges during scrutiny of CCTV footage, currency records and access logs.
Saharanpur DIG Abhishek Singh said that a case had been registered on the complaint of the bank’s chief manager against the three managers and the part-time housekeeper. He said the bank was conducting its own inquiry while police were investigating the entire matter.