BENGALURU: A 60-year-old physically challenged man was arrested for allegedly cheating local shops and roadside vendors with fake Rs 500 currency notes and receiving legitimate change.
On Friday evening, the accused, Kodandamurthy of Bhadravathi, brought vegetables worth Rs 35 from a vendor in Rajarajeshwari Nagar with a fake Rs 500 note. After the accused left, the vendor realised that the note was fake, and registered a complaint.
A police officer said they suspect a bigger racket involving the accused in the production of counterfeit currency, along with dealers, retailers, suppliers and those involved in the exchange, all of whom are yet to be arrested.
Fake currency worth Rs 30,000, all in Rs 500 notes, has been confiscated from Kodandamurthy. The seized currency has been sent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for verification to determine the percentage of their authenticity, the police officer added.
Investigations revealed that Kodandamurthy has multiple cases of burglary registered against him in various police stations in the city. The RR Nagar police registered a case and the accused is now in their custody for 10 days.