2 held in Mewat for printing, circulating fake ₹2,000 notes

GURGAON : The crime branch of Mewat police claimed on Monday to have busted an interstate fake currency racket that printed and circulated counterfeit ₹2,000 notes. The police arrested one of the accused on Sunday and another on Monday.

The accused, according to the police, used to sell fake ₹2,000 notes at ₹350 and ₹400, depending on the buyers. These fake notes have been in circulation in Haryana, UP and Rajasthan for many months, the police claimed.

The racket, according to the police, had been operating in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The police recovered five fake ₹2,000 notes (₹10,000 in total), a forged registration certificate of a car and a fake driving licence.

Mewat had been on radar of the investigative agencies over fake currency circulation. According to the police sources, fake currency smugglers get three times more returns, as such cases of smuggling counterfeit notes are rising in the region.

Police arrested Zakir, one of the accused, on Sunday. He was presented in court on Monday and remanded in five days’ police custody. On Monday, the police arrested another member of the racket, Arif. He identified some places where he allegedly sold fake notes. He was remanded in police custody for three days. The crime cell of Firozpur Jhirka, Mewat, had laid a trap to arrest the racketeers .

While Zakir was arrested on Sunday, his brother and the alleged mastermind, Mubarik alias Mubba,is absconding. He took the dye used for printing fake notes with him.

THE RACKET, ACCORDING TO THE POLICE, HAD BEEN OPERATING IN HARYANA, UTTAR PRADESH, AND RAJASTHAN