Police in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district busted a fake currency racket and arrested four accused involved in printing and circulating counterfeit notes, officials said on Thursday.
During the joint operation carried out by Gadchiroli Police Station and the Local Crime Branch, officials seized fake currency notes, a high-tech colour printer, bond paper, computer equipment and other materials used for printing counterfeit notes.
The total value of the seized material is estimated at Rs 39,700.
The racket came to light after counterfeit Rs 100 notes were detected in a deposit machine at the Bank of Maharashtra branch in Gadchiroli.
According to police, CCTV footage from the ATM deposit machine revealed that accused Pramod Tikaram Kove, a 23-year-old resident of Chandrapur district, had deposited 21 fake Rs 100 notes worth Rs 2,100 on May 11.
Based on a complaint filed by the bank manager, Gadchiroli Police registered a case on May 15 under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Accused led police to counterfeit network
Police arrested Pramod Kove on May 15 and questioned him during the investigation.
During interrogation, he allegedly confessed that he had obtained the fake notes from Aditya Janardhan Rechankar, a resident of Gadchiroli.
Further investigation revealed that the counterfeit notes were allegedly being sourced from a person known as “Chitu” based in Nagpur.
Raid conducted in Nagpur flat
Acting on technical analysis and intelligence inputs, a joint police team travelled to Nagpur on May 16 and raided a flat in the Trimurti Nagar area.
During the search operation, police recovered equipment allegedly used to manufacture fake currency, including a colour printer, bond paper, cutters and partially printed notes.
Three more accused were detained and later arrested in connection with the case.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mayur Laxmikant Doijad (31), Aditya Laxmikant Doijad (26) and Aditya Janardhan Rechankar (19).
Police seized several counterfeit notes and printing materials from the premises, including 21 fake Rs 100 notes worth Rs 2,100, colour printer, bond paper and blank sheets, printed sheets of counterfeit Rs 50, Rs 100 and Rs 200 notes
Officials said partially printed and cut counterfeit notes were also recovered during the operation.
Probe underway
All four accused have been remanded to police custody till May 22.
Further investigation is being carried out by a police team led by Inspector Vinod Chavan of Gadchiroli Police Station.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police M. Ramesh and senior district police officials.