Couple held with Rs 5 crore in fake currency in Raipur

A man and his wife were arrested here on Sunday with fake currency notes with face value of Rs 5 crore, police said.

The couple also, allegedly, offered to help companies get income tax benefits by accepting sham donations under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme.

"Acting on a specific tip-off, Nikhil Kumar Singh (29) and his wife Poonam Agrawal (30) were arrested by a special team of Raipur Crime Branch and local police for allegedly being involved in printing and possessing counterfeit currency notes," Raipur Additional Superintendent of Police Praful Kumar Thakur told PTI.

Fake notes in denomination of Rs 2,000, a printer, laptop and a paper cutting machine were recovered from their flat in Rajendra Nagar area here, he said.

While Singh is a native of Bihar, his wife hails from Bilaspur town of Chhattisgarh, he said.

Probe revealed that the couple allegedly told companies that if they deposited the funds earmarked for CSR activities in a particular NGO as donation, 80 per cent of the amount will be returned after deducting 20 per cent as a commission.

It will help the companies avail of income tax concessions and get the 'donated' money back as well, the couple allegedly told the prospective clients.

A case has been registered with New Rajendra Nagar police station and further investigation is on, ASP Thakur added.