By Anamika Tiwari

Chandigarh [India], October 3 (ANI): The Chandigarh Police Crime Branch has busted an inter-state syndicate involved in printing and circulating Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) across northern states, recovering counterfeit currency worth Rs 24.27 lakh.

A total of 7,157 fake notes in Rs 500 and Rs 100 denominations were seized, along with two vehicles, printers, ink bottles, cutters, and security thread embedded paper. Three key members of the racket identified as Gaurav Kumar alias Ranjit (34) from Himachal Pradesh, Vikram Meena alias Vicky (35) from Punjab, and Jitendra Sharma (42) from Rajasthan, were arrested during operations in Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

The syndicate was active in Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir. The operation was led by Inspector Satvinder, SHO, PS-Crime, under the supervision of SP (Crime) Jasbir Singh and DSP (Crime) Dhiraj Kumar.

SP Crime Jasbir Singh, 'Acting on a tip-off on September 25, police laid a trap near Shishu Niketan School, Sector 22, Chandigarh, and nabbed Gaurav Kumar and Vikram Meena. A black bag carried by Gaurav contained 19 counterfeit Rs. 500 notes, while a further search of his car yielded 1,626 more. From Vikram car, 392 counterfeit notes were seized. Further raids based on their disclosure statements led to recoveries in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. On October 1, police arrested Jitendra Sharma from his rented accommodation in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, seizing fake notes worth Rs 12.20 lakh, along with printers and raw materials for counterfeiting. In total, 7,157 fake notes amounting to Rs. 24.27 lakh were recovered.'

He further stated that investigations revealed that the gang initially dealt in person but later used social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram to lure buyers with promises of high returns.

'Deals were often struck at a 1:3 ratio, where Rs 1 lakh in genuine currency was exchanged for Rs. 3 lakh in fake notes. The counterfeit currency was circulated through courier services or delivered manually, often mixed with genuine notes to avoid detection. Police profiling shows all three accused had suffered financial losses in business or share trading and turned to counterfeiting for quick money,' SP added.

Other members of the racket have already been arrested in Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir.

Further investigation is underway to identify more linkages of the network. (ANI)