Lucknow, Jun 30 (IANS): An FIR has been lodged at the Mahanagar police station here after the recovery of fake currency notes in the currency chest of the Reserve Bank of India.

Mohit Priyadarshi, assistant manager, Reserve Bank of India, Gomti Nagar, informed the police that 44 fake currency notes (one in the denomination of Rs 20 and the remaining of Rs 100) were found in the bank's currency chest in Mahanagar in April-May this year.

He said the circulation/printing of fake currency was a serious offence and required police action.

He said that the police could send fake currency notes to the currency printing press or forensic lab for investigation.

He also submitted the fake currency notes and their details to the police.

Last year, another bank had lodged an FIR stating that demonetized currency worth Rs 1.5 crore was found in the bank's chest. The currency notes were deposited by various banks in the city between October 2017 and March 2018.

The seized notes were sent to Nashik to check if they are counterfeit. Over 9,000 notes of Rs 500 denomination and 6,000 notes of Rs 1,000 denomination were found in the chest.