Counterfeit notes worth Rs 23 lakh seized in Rajkot, three held

RAJKOT: Rajkot police seized currency notes of Rs 100 and Rs 500 denomination worth Rs 23.44 lakh amid people’s anxiety over exchanging Rs 2,000 denomination notes with banks.
The police arrested Nikunj Bhalodiya (35), Vishal Gadhiya (45) and Vishal Buddhdev (39) for possessing and printing counterfeit currency notes.
According to the police the crime branch sleuths raided a milk parlour on Sadhuvasvani road on Wednesday night based on the specific information. The parlour was owned by Vishal Gadhiya and run by him and his partner Vishal Buddhdev and found the counterfeit currency notes. They told police that they got these notes from Nikunj Bhalodiya.

The police raided the premise of Bhalodiya in Amrutpark area and found a scanner machine and a printing machine, he was printing the notes by creating them on a photoshop for the last three months.
"Bhalodiya was printing counterfeit notes for the last three months. He was doing the business of printing but to earn money in short time he started printing counterfeit currency notes," said a police officer.
The RBI’s announcement to withdraw Rs 2,000 denomination notes helped them as people want to get Rs 500 and Rs 100 denomination notes in exchange for Rs 2,000 notes.
Bhalodiya provided Rs 1 lakh counterfeit notes to milk parlour in exchange for Rs 35,000. The parlour owners were accepting Rs 2,000 notes from their customers and returning the remaining amount with these counterfeit notes.