Fake notes with Rs 43L face value seized

Palanpur: Acting on a tip-off, Banaskatha police successfully seized a huge cache of counterfeits in 2,000 rupees denomination on Sunday, with a face value of Rs 43.3 lakh.
The contraband was hauled off a private bus coming from Rajasthan, in which the carrier had kept the notes in a handbag. The accused was identified as Poonamchand Omprakash Sharma (21), a resident of Bikaner in Rajasthan. He revealed the lot was to be delivered to a Rajasthani man living in Surat. Cops have identified the Surat man as Narendra Kailashchandra Gurava, from Payali in Rajasthan’s Ratnagarh district.

Earlier, the police undertook a massive combing operation of all vehicles coming from Abu Road along the border posts at Banaskantha district after instructions were received by Palanpur West Police station Inspector General of Police, Border Range, Bhuj and IG of Banaskantha.

When the team of police, led by inspector RK Solanki (west) and head constables Alimkhan Hamidkhan and Vinodbhai Kalubhai along with women head constable Rekhaben Bhikabhai and others were checking passengers in the private luxury bus with licence plate RJ-19 PB-2699, they came across Sharma who was holding onto a bag that contained 2,165 fake notes of Rs 2000 denomination in lots of four serial numbers. They arrested Sharma along with the contraband and are investigating.