BALAGHAT: Madhya Pradesh police have seized a huge consignment of fake currency notes of Rs 5 crore face value and arrested eight persons in this connection, a senior official said on Sunday.
While six of the accused were arrested from Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh, two others were held from Gondia in neighbouring Maharashtra, Balaghat Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Tiwari told reporters.
These fake currency notes are of different denominations ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 2,000, he said.
The action was taken based on a tip-off, in which police were informed that some people were trying to bring into use the huge consignment of fake currency notes at Baihar and Balaghat, the SP added.
"After a two-day operation, the police busted this gang and arrested eight people," he said, adding that their interrogation is underway to get information about other people involved in this and also to know where they have supplied the fake currency bills.
In March this year, police had arrested four persons for trying to supply fake currency notes of Rs 4.94 lakh face value from Bamhani Square under Baihar police station area.
Both the incidents might have been linked to each other, Tiwari said, adding that the supplier of these fake currency notes can be the same in both the cases.
The eight accused have been identified as Rahul Meshram (25), Anantram Panche (38), Hariram Panche, (33), Nanhulal Vishwakarma (40), Hemant Uike (30), Mukesh Tawade (30), Sohanlal (30) and Rameshwar Mauje (40).
"Their interrogation is underway to know about the gang leader and the supply chain," Tiwari said.
Besides, it is also being investigated where and how these currency notes were printed, he added.