Three held with counterfeit currency of Rs.2.8 lakh

Three people have been arrested here for carrying Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) with a face value of Rs.2.82 lakh, police said.

Harish Kumar, 28, the kingpin of the FICN syndicate, was arrested along with Pankaj Narain, 23, and Kanwaljeet Singh, 23. All residents of Uttam Nagar in west Delhi were arrested from their homes on a tip off for carrying the seized fake notes.

"The fake currency notes were in the denomination of Rs.1,000 and Rs.500. It was routed through West Bengal and Bihar," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Kumar said.

"Harish Kumar informed during interrogation that he met with one Arjun Sharma who introduced him with one Munna Bhaiya, a kingpin based in Bettiah in Bihar, in 2015 who allured and induced him to join the illegal syndicate to earn quick bucks," said the officer.

Kumar then started bringing FICN to Delhi in small quantity and circulated it himself in the local or weekly markets of Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) as per the direction of his boss, the officer said.

Kumar later organised his network comprising some young boys for circulation of FICN in Delhi.

"He used to bring FICN at the rate of 52 percent from Bettiah and supply it at the rate of 65 percent of its denomination to the local racketeers in Delhi who used to circulate it in weekly markets of different parts of Delhi," the officer said.

"Kumar disclosed that he has been involved in this illegal trade for last six months and organised his Delhi and NCR network about three months ago. He also disclosed that he has brought approximately Rs.35 lakh in FICN to Delhi in about 10 consignments and supplied it in Delhi and NCR through his local network," the officer said.

The officer said that Kumar, who studied up to second year of graduation from Delhi University through correspondence, was arrested earlier in a kidnapping-cum-rape case in Uttam Nagar.