Pune police seize fake notes worth ₹28 lakh
FICN with face value of ₹28 lakh have been confiscated so far and five persons arrested, the official added
The Pune police busted a major Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) racket following a probe that began on April 17 after 55 counterfeit notes of ₹200 denomination were deposited in the cash deposit machine of a local bank, an official said on Monday.
FICN with face value of ₹28 lakh have been confiscated so far and five persons arrested, the official added.
Following the report, the police filed a case under sections 178, 179, and 180 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The accused have been identified as Manisha Swapnil Thanekar, resident of Nagpur Chawl, Yerawada; Bharti Tanaji Gawand, from Keshavnagar, Chinchwad; Sachin Ramchandra Yamgar, from Gahunje; Naresh Bhimappa Shetty (from Lohgaon), and Prabhu Gugal Jeddy.
The investigation revealed that the counterfeit notes were sourced from Shetty. A raid on his residence led to the recovery of 20 bundles of fake ₹200 notes valued at ₹4 lakh, ₹2.04 lakh in real currency, a printer, over 1,000 printed A4 sheets with fake ₹500 notes totalling ₹22.32 lakh, printing ink, and blank paper used for counterfeiting.
Additionally, a vehicle associated with the suspects was found containing 648 fake ₹200 notes and three fake ₹500 notes worth ₹1.39 lakh.
Further inquiries led to the recovery of counterfeit notes from other suspects including ₹ 60,000 worth of fake ₹ 200 notes from Gawand, ₹20,000 worth of fake ₹200 notes from Thanekar and ₹20,000 worth of fake ₹200 notes from Yamgar.
Mahesh Bolkotgi, senior police inspector at Shivaji Nagar police station, said, “As soon as we received complaint from the bank officials, we analyzed technical data. Based on which we have identified bank accounts and consequently arrsted the accused. “
During the house search of the accused we have got one sided page on which four Indian currency notes were printed on a single sheet, Bolkotgi added.
All of the suspects have been remanded to police custody until April 29, said police.
