CHENNAI: Four years after the demonetisation exercise, which among other things was introduced to curb circulation of fake currencies, it has been found that 90 per cent of the total value of seized counterfeit notes in Tamil Nadu last year was of Rs 2,000 or Rs 500 denominations.
According to data from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), there has also been a steady increase of circulation of fake Rs 500 notes especially in Tamil Nadu.
Though introduced with reported addition of several safety features, 60 per cent of the total number of fake notes seized were Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes. According to the NCRB’s annual ‘Crime in India’ report, Rs 94.21 lakh worth counterfeit notes were seized in Tamil Nadu in 2019.
While Tamil Nadu topped the list of states with regard to seizure of fake Rs 2,000 notes in 2018 (12,560 notes), it dropped to eight place in 2019 with Karnataka topping the list. Prior to the demonetisation in 2016 the State had recorded a seizure of Rs 33 lakh in fake notes.
Original note seizures
Tamil Nadu stood second in the country with regard to the value of seized original currencies in 2019, according to NCRB. Rajasthan topped the list with Rs 2.45 crore, followed by Tamil Nadu with Rs 2.16 crore. Original currencies involved in illegal activities like hawala, gambling and cyber crimes are seized during operations, said a police officer attached to the State Crime Records Bureau.
In 2019, 70,255 notes worth Rs 2.16 crore were seized in the State as against 1,25,039 notes valuing Rs 1.65 crore in 2018. A senior police officer told Express, “More seizures mean that crimes have been prevented before they were committed and it was made possible owing to the intelligence sleuths’ vigilant work in the state”