Rs.4.5 lakh worth fake currency seized

Based on prior intelligence Rajkot Police has seized fake currency notes haul valuing worth Rs.4.39 lakh from three culprits on Wednesday.

Malaviyanagar Police Station was given an alert from Rajkot police commissionerate regarding an unidentified person on move in Swaminarayan Chowk area of city, who was in process to transact fake currency notes.

"We immediately deployed our staff in civil uniform and based on the narration of the person depicted to us, we nabbed one such person named Bhavin Patel (25) and recovered fake currency notes of Rs.500/- denomination valuing worth Rs.49 thousand from him," claims Mahavirsinh Sarvaiya, Police Inspector, Malaviyanagar Police Station.

On further interrogation, Bhavin confessed of this notes being supplied to him from Kuvadva based Bijal Bharwaad. Cops called Bijal at a place near Jalalshahpir's shrine on the Rajkot-Ahmedabad highway and fake currency notes of Rs 500 denomination valuing worth Rs 1 lakh were recovered from him, adds Sarvaiya.

Bijal also confessed of being carrier of this fake currency notes and admitted that he was supplied notes from Chotila based Vallabh Koli, who was nabbed by cops from a farm located in city and cops recovered fake currency notes of Rs 500 denomination valuing worth Rs 2.9 lakh.

"Offence of transiting fake currency notes and cheating has been registered against all three vide Section 489 and 120 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and process for availing remand orders of the arrested ones is in progress," said Sarvaiya. However, we haven't seized any printing machinery and other devices used in printing this notes because arrested ones are simply carriers and not the manufacturers of this fake currency notes, couple of notes are having similar numbers and few do not have number printed on it, said Sarvaiya. On interrogating them they have confessed regarding the modus adopted by their suppliers who used to sell them the notes at half of the original value meaning they had to pay Rs.25 thousand for a consignment valuing worth Rs.50 thousand and that too after the entire stuff was sold.

They have also confessed of this haul being supplied to them from Bhavnagar district and we have identified their supplier who shall be nabbed shortly, as our team is already on its way to arrest him too, assured Mahavirsinh. After Bhavnagar, Rajkot is another emerging destination in Saurashtra for transiting fake currency notes.

Similar such incident surfaced in the month of June this year at Suzlon Securities office located on Tagore Road in city, from where cops seized haul of fake currency notes valuing worth Rs.5 lacs alongwith printing machinery and chemicals used in the process and the owner of the office Magan Tanti confessed of being in the trade alongwith his Mumbai based colleagues who were later arrested after offence of transiting fake currency notes and cheating was registered against them.