Fake Rs 2,000 notes worth over Rs 2 lakh seized near Hyderabad, 6 arrested

Police arrested six people and seized counterfeit currency worth over Rs 2 lakh near Hyderabad on Saturday, busting a fake notes racket.

The police seized 105 counterfeit notes of Rs 2,000, which was released this month following the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and 500 notes, around 35 km from Hyderabad, under Ibrahimpatnam police station limits in Rachakonda police commissionerate.

Read | Rs 14 lakh in old and new denominations seized in Nashik

Of the Rs 2,22,310 in fake currency seized from the gang, Rs 2,000 notes were worth Rs 2,10,000. The remaining fake currency was in denominations of Rs 100, 50, 20 and 10.

Two colour Xerox machines and Rs 50,000 in cash was also seized from the spot, in addition to other incriminating evidence.

Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said the gang started off by printing fake currency notes of lower denominations, and after successfully circulating them in the market they moved the new Rs 2,000 banknotes.

Read | After complaints of printing variations, RBI says Rs 500, Rs 2000 notes legal

The police chief said the accused were still waiting for an opportunity to circulate the fake Rs 2,000 notes.

Jamalapur Sainath, 28, a butcher by profession, was the kingpin of the operation. The others were G Anjaiah, C Satyanarayana, K Sridhar Goud and A Vijay Kumar.

On credible information, police raided the house of S Ramesh — one of the accused — at Ibrahimpatnam and arrested the six. Two other accused — Kalyan and Srikanth — were still absconding.

Bhagwat said people can easily detect the fake Rs 2,000 note using the safety features of the new banknotes. Here are 21 ways to check if your new Rs 2000, Rs 500 notes are real.