Police arrest man for attempted murder, stumbles on counterfeits

A police officer added, “We nabbed Sharma. Gupta, who had suffered injuries, was rushed to the hospital and is recuperating.” (Representational Image)

A man who was arrested on Thursday for attempting to kill another man on July 5 was printing currency notes in his house, police said. According to Mumbra police, the accused, Ashish Sharma, had opened fire on another man, identified as Sanjivkumar Gupta, at a housing complex in Diva on July 5. The police laid a trap and arrested Sharma on Thursday.

“A few months ago, Gupta had rented his Diva house to Sharma, but the two did not enter into a formal contract. On Thursday, Gupta, without giving any notice, asked Sharma to vacate the house. An argument ensued between the two and Sharma fired at him,” said an officer from Mumbra police on condition of anonymity. He added, “We nabbed Sharma. Gupta, who had suffered injuries, was rushed to the hospital and is recuperating.”

But when police raided Sharma’s home, they were in for a surprise. The team found a currency printing machine in his house. “He was printing currencies in the new denominations ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 2,000 in his backyard,” said the officer. According to police, Sharma and his accomplice were using a black marker to make the notes look legitimate. “These notes were given to unsuspecting vendors and businessmen, usually at night, so the victims didn’t detect the fake,” said DCP DS Swami. “We are investigating who he selling the notes to,” he added.

“We have booked him for attempt to murder, selling and possessing counterfeit under the IPC and have also added relevant sections of the Arms Act, after we found that he was using the gun he had illegally procured from an arms supplier in Uttar Pradesh. We have seized the machines and counterfeit notes totalling Rs 1.1 lakh. We are investigating who Sharma was supplying the notes to. We are also investigating the firms where he seems to have spent the fake notes,” said a senior police officer.” Sharma lived alone and had been booked in Mumbai in a case of causing grievous harm using weapons in the past.