KOCHI: The police investigation into a lottery vendor’s attempt to deposit fake currency notes at a bank in Kunnakara has revealed that he found the notes abandoned by the side of the Angamaly-Manjaly Road. Now the police are looking to identify those who abandoned the fake notes.
It was on Saturday that Sreenath, 32, of Vayalakara reached the Kunnukara Service Cooperative Bank to deposit money into his account. He gave 15 notes of Rs 500 denomination at the cash counter. On inspection, the bank officials found that 11 of them were fake. By that time, however, Sreenath had left the bank. Based on the bank’s complaint, the Chengamanad police registered a case and arrested Sreenath from Gothuruth on Monday.
“We interrogated Sreenath for several hours. He claimed that the currency notes were found abandoned on one side of Angamaly-Manjaly Road. Thinking that the notes were original, he decided to deposit them with the bank. There were no security threats on the notes and the paper quality was low. They were average-quality counterfeit notes. The arrested person also has psychological issues and sells lotteries in the Kunnukara area,” a police officer said.
The recovery of the fake currency notes prompted the police to search the area from where Sreenath found them. That led to the recovery of 10 more fake notes at an isolated place near the government school in Chalakka.
“We have started checking CCTV cameras in the area to find the people who abandoned the fake currency notes. Most probably, the notes were abandoned because of a fear of getting caught by the police. Fake notes are mostly used for transactions at shops and petrol pumps. We checked with shopkeepers and petrol pump owners, but no one else in the area has received such notes,” the officer said.
The case is likely to be transferred to the crime branch.
“It looks like the notes were printed using a printer. We are collecting information on people arrested for the printing and circulation of fake currency notes in the district. As cases relating to counterfeit notes are probed by the crime branch, this case too will be transferred to the agency soon,” he said.