SAMBALPUR: Sambalpur police arrested six persons and seized counterfeit currency notes worth Rs 13.85 lakh from their possession on Saturday night.
The accused are Sagar Sahu (26), Ashok Sahu (27), Shiv Shankar Bania (30) and Gunanidhi Bhoi (38), all from Bargarh district, besides Satyanarayan Nirala (26) and Abhiram Jhangde (48) of Koshir in Raigarh of Chhattisgarh. While fake notes worth Rs 8 lakh were seized from Nirala, Jhangde was nabbed with Rs 4.46 lakh counterfeit currency.
Police said Sankar Singh of Sambalpur, a tea stall owner, got into a brawl with two persons who had come to his shop, over theft of his mobile phone on Saturday. He later lodged a complaint with police alleging that the two persons had stolen his phone. During investigation, police found a 100 rupee note from the duo’s possession which seemed fake. After consulting with the bank, both the accused were taken into custody for interrogation.
Sambalpur SP B Gangadhar on Sunday said, “The duo gave us lead about two more persons in Bargarh who were involved in circulation of fake currency notes. During investigation, we found that two persons from Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh were involved in printing fake currencies and supplying the same to the others for circulation in the market. The gang involved in counterfeit currency racket was active in Bargarh, Sambalpur and parts of Chhattisgarh since the last six-seven months.”
He further said a special police team was formed to conduct raids at various places in Sambalpur. “Police have seized fake currency notes of Rs 100, Rs 200, Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denomination. We have also seized the bank accounts of the accused and trying to ascertain the amount of fake currency they have circulated till now,” the SP added.
Apart from the fake notes, a vehicle, mobile phones, bundles of paper, printer, stamps and other stationery items used for printing counterfeit currency were seized from the accused who have been booked under sections 498 A, 489 B, C and D of the IPC.