Fake currency menace on the rise in city: Cops

Nine months into the year and Delhi Police have seized more than Rs 65 lakh fake currency floated in the Capital, reports Vijaita Singh.

Last week, a multinational bank in Connau

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Nine months into the year and Delhi Police have seized more than Rs 65 lakh fake currency floated in the Capital.

Last week, a multinational bank in Connaught Place complained to the police that fake currency worth Rs 7 lakh were found in their cash chest.

Police said there has been a 10 per cent surge in the number of fake notes in the Capital when compared to last year.

Till August this year, Delhi Police seized fake currency notes worth Rs 65,20,770 from across the city. Police also arrested 39 persons for circulating these notes.

The seizure for the entire year in 2008 stood at Rs 59 lakh.

"The interrogation of most of the accused persons arrested for circulating fake currency revealed that the consignment was routed through either Nepal or Bangladesh. The notes were printed in Pakistan and pushed into the Indian boundary via the two countries," said a senior Crime Branch officer who is not authorised to speak to the media.

A bank's branch at Connaught Place complained to the police that between January 1 and May 30 this year, fake note deposits worth Rs 7 lakh were found in their ATMs and cash chest, police said.

G S Sawhney, the bank's manager at CP, has complained that counterfeit currency in all denominations were found in their cash deposit. The fake currency notes were sent to the government printing press in Nashik for quality check.

Last month, the reserve Bank of India (RBI) had registered a case with the police saying fake currency notes worth Rs 84,000 were found in their reserves.

This year alone, the RBI has registered five such cases with the Parliament Street police station.