Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Oct 3: Chamarajpet police in Bengaluru have busted an alleged inter-state counterfeit currency racket, arresting seven people from Tamil Nadu and Telangana and recovering 4,337 fake Rs 500 notes with a face value of Rs 21.68 lac.
Police also seized a car, eight mobile phones and equipment allegedly used to print the counterfeit currency, while four other accused are still absconding.
The investigation began on September 14 after police received information that counterfeit notes were being circulated from a car near a petrol bunk close to the down-ramp of the Mysuru Road Flyover.
Acting on the tip-off, a police team raided the spot and apprehended two suspects. They were produced before a court on September 15 and subsequently taken into police custody for 10 days.
During interrogation, the duo allegedly disclosed the involvement of nine other associates and provided information about their whereabouts.
Following the leads, police apprehended two suspects in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on September 16 and recovered two mobile phones from them. Three more suspects were arrested in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana on September 18, with four mobile phones seized from them.
The accused have been identified as Murugan, 52, Govindan, 43, Bakradh, 38, and Sharavanan, 47, all from Tamil Nadu, and Sathyam, 47, Lakshman, 46, and Krishna, 43, from Telangana.
When police arrested the first two accused near the flyover ramp, they recovered 3,000 counterfeit currency notes from them.
Further interrogation led investigators to additional fake currency and the alleged printing setup used by the group. Between September 24 and 25, officers recovered more counterfeit notes from the residence of one of the accused in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu.
Police also seized a computer, laptop, laminator, holograms and a photocopy machine allegedly used to print counterfeit currency.
The investigation is continuing, with police attempting to trace the four absconding accused and establish the full network and extent of the alleged interstate counterfeit currency operation.