Mumbai: Man arrested for circulating fake notes

THE MUMBAI Police Crime Branch has arrested a person employed as a loader at the Navi Mumbai APMC market for allegedly trying to circulate fake currency notes of Rs 2,000.

Police said Shafiqul Shaikh (25), who was arrested on Monday, wanted to circulate the fake currency — by concealing it in real notes — among the large crowds that head to the market to purchase mangoes. Shaikh, who hails from Malda in West Bengal, was produced before the Esplanade court, which remanded it to the custody of the crime branch for four days. The police are on the lookout for two others in the case.

DCP Dilip Sawant said that they received a tip-off that one person was coming to deliver the fake notes in Zaveri Bazaar on Monday. The unit 2 of the crime branch arrested Shaikh and found 50 fake notes of Rs 2,000 with a face value of Rs 1 lakh.

“Shaikh would receive the fake currency from a handler in Malda. His job was to circulate the fake currency in the markets here. He, along with another person, would hide the fake currency in bundles of genuine cash. They usually disposed it off at the APMC market or Zaveri Bazaar as both places see large crowds,” said an officer linked to the probe. Another officer said, “At present, APMC market is experiencing high footfall, as many people go there to purchase mangoes in wholesale. The accused, during the course of transactions, would try to slip a few fake notes in bundles of genuine currency. Given the rush there, not many people bother to check the notes.” Police are now on the lookout for Rintu Shaikh, also employed at the APMC market. “We want to find out if other people, who are part of the racket, are working at the wholesale market,” said an officer.

The officer added that in the seized currency notes, security features were missing. “On genuine Rs 2,000 notes, there are seven angular bleed lines in raised print on the right side that can be touched. These lines were missing in the fake notes. A few other features were also missing.”