Fake currency probe linked to fraudsters who claimed to ‘double money’

An officer of the Mumbai Crime Branch, which carried out the raid, said based on a tip-off, they had arrested Mohammad Arshad (42) from Varanasi and Lavesh Tamble (41) from Kalwa in Thane. The Crime Branch found over 250 fake notes of Rs 2,000 each, total worth around Rs 5 lakh, during the raid.

Usually, trails of fake currency cases lead to terror groups, which try to circulate fake currency to destablise the rupee. The quality of fake notes in such cases is usually quite similar to real currency. But in this case, the police found that the notes were merely colour photo copies of each other, with the number on the notes being the same in most cases.

According to investigators, the first giveaway that the duo was not linked to any major fake currency racket was the poor quality of notes. Secondly, during their interrogation, the police found that Arshad claimed to be an exorcist who “cured people possessed by spirits and ghosts”. Investigation also revealed that Tambe worked as Arshad’s accomplice and had also sold his Kalwa house to the latter, where Arshad could meet potential clients. The police found that one of the ‘powers’ that Arshad claimed to have was ‘doubling money’ by casting a spell.

Police said that Arshad would take money from people after claiming that he could double it. He would then put it in a bag and tell the person to open the bag only after 40 days, when they would find it ‘doubled’.

“He would tell them that if they opened the bag before 40 days, they would lose the money,” the officer added. The police suspect that the fake notes they have seized from the accused were used for carrying out these frauds.

Police said that even during the interrogation, Arshad kept insisting that he had supernatural powers and also told the policemen that he could see ghosts sitting around them, which he could drive away.