ONGOLE: Counterfeit currency notes of Rs 500 denomination worth Rs 19,500 were found in the social security pension disbursed to beneficiaries by a village volunteer in Prakasam district on Sunday. The enhanced pension of Rs 2,750 was distributed to a beneficiary of the SC Colony at Narasayapalem in Yerragondapalem mandal by village volunteer M Amose (30).
When the beneficiary tried to send the money to his relative, the Rs 500 notes given as pension were found to be fake. When the volunteer was alerted, he verified the notes he had distributed and found that 38 of them amounting to Rs 19,000 are fake.
Having learnt about the news of fake notes, village secretariat officials called up Amose and enquired about the matter. They directed him to bring back all the money he was allotted to distribute pensions. Later, they examined the currency notes and 39 notes of Rs 500 denomination were found to be fake.
All the fake notes were seized and kept in the office. Initially, the volunteer stated that he did not know anything about the fake currency notes and he took the amount from the secretariat welfare assistant, who usually gives the money on the last day of every month to distribute the pension to beneficiaries. Later, the volunteer reportedly confessed that he swapped the original notes with fake ones.
After getting information, Yerragondapalem police started investigation. Yerragondapalem CI K Maruti Krishna and SI G Kotaiah seized all the fake currency notes. The welfare assistant of Narasayapalem village secretariat clarified that he drew the amount from Yerragondapalem bank and handed over the money to the volunteer and he knew nothing about fake currency.