Fake notes worth Rs 3.16 crore seized, one held

The currency notes were being transported in a box in a goods vehicle when police intercepted it near Chikkahole reservoir at Attagulipura village in the afternoon.
Fake currency notes seized by the police in Chamarajanagar on Saturday | EXPRESS
Fake currency notes seized by the police in Chamarajanagar on Saturday | EXPRESS

Chamarajanagar: The district police have landed a prize catch by seizing counterfeit currency notes worth Rs 3.16 crore on Friday. The currency notes were being transported in a box in a goods vehicle when police intercepted it near Chikkahole reservoir at Attagulipura village in the afternoon. The driver of the vehicle has been apprehended while another person travelling with him made good his escape. Superintendent of Police H D Ananda Kumar told reporters on Saturday, “It seems to be an organised racket, as the notes, all in the denomination of Rs 2,000, were found of high quality and printed in a colour photocopy machine. All the notes have same numbers.

We had received a tip-off a fortnight ago about the possibility of movement of a huge cache of duplicate currency notes from Bengaluru to Tamil Nadu through the district. Hence we were keeping a tab on the vehicles.” The SP said the driver has been identified as Karthik, while the identity of another is yet to be ascertained. Karthik of Nayaka Street at Sargur town in the taluk in Mysuru district, works at a hair saloon at Virajpet in Kodagu. He also doubles up as driver whenever somebody seeks his service.

According to the preliminary investigation, Karthik is feigning ignorance about the type of goods he was carrying in the vehicle. According to Karthik, it was only after police personnel intercepted the vehicle that he learned about the fake currency notes.

However, investigators are quizzing him, at least to know the identity of the man who was accompanying him and also his role in the illegal activity. Another fishy aspect is that the number plate of the vehicle has been changed several times, according to the plates recovered by the police. The SP said, “As such rackets threaten the foundation of economy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) authorities are also kept in the loop. A separate police team has been formed to investigate further”.

The team that busted the racket included Chamarajanagar East police station SI Puttaswamy, ASI Madegowda, head constables Naga Nayaka, Shantharaju and Chandra, constables Buntappa, Ningaraju, Ashok, Venkatesh, Suresh, Mahesh and driver Mahesh.

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