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Sangli police seize fake currency worth over ₹1 crore; 5 held
Sangli police have seized counterfeit Indian currency worth over ₹1 crore and arrested five persons in connection with the case
PUNE: Ahead of local body elections, the Sangli police have seized counterfeit Indian currency worth over ₹1 crore and arrested five persons in connection with the case. Turns out the accused learned to make fake currency notes by watching YouTube videos.
The first arrest in this case was made on Wednesday wherein the police laid a trap on Niljaji-Bamani road below Kolhapur bridge in Miraj and arrested Suprit Kaddappa Desai, 22, from Gadhinglaj in Kolhapur district. The police seized 84 fake currency notes of ₹500 each, totalling ₹42,000.
During Desai’s interrogation, the police found that another accused, Rahul Rajaram Jadhav, 33, Hatkanangale, Kolhapur district, was involved in the actual preparation and production of counterfeit currency notes of ₹200 and ₹500. After being produced, the counterfeit currency was transported by the accused: Desai; Ibrar Adam Inamdar, 44, from Kasba Bawada in Kolhapur district; and Narendra Jagganath Shinde, 40, from Rajarampuri, Kolhapur. Accordingly, Jadhav was arrested from Kolhapur on Thursday with the police seizing 68 fake currency notes of ₹500 each, totalling ₹64,000; a laptop used for designing counterfeit currency notes; a printer; and other material used in the printing of counterfeit currency.
Sandip Ghuge, superintendent of police, Sangli, said, “A total five individuals were arrested and produced in court and the court remanded them to police custody till October 11. Counterfeit currency worth ₹9,853,300 was seized. Prima facie it seems that they might be part of an interstate racket and further investigation is going on.”
Sandeep Shinde, assistant police inspector at Mahatma Gandhi Chowk police station, Miraj, said, “During the interrogation of Desai and Jadhav, we got information about the other accused involved and the transportation of counterfeit currency notes. Accordingly, we laid a trap at Pethnaka on the Pune-Bangalore highway and intercepted a sports utility vehicle (SUV) without a numberplate.”
From the SUV, Inamdar and Shinde were arrested; and 19,535 counterfeit notes of ₹500 each worth ₹9,767,500; and 429 fake notes of ₹200 each worth ₹85,800 were seized. Additionally, the police also arrested another suspect named Siddhesh Jagdish Mhatre, 38, from Malad east, Mumbai. The police investigation also revealed that Jadhav is an ‘on-record’ criminal with cases registered against him in other states as well. A case has been filed at Mahatma Gandhi Chowk police station, Miraj, against the accused under sections 178, 179 and 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and further investigation is underway.
