Indian ATM dispenses dummy ‘children bank’ currency

AFP: An ATM in Delhi spewed dummy 2,000rupee notes issued by the ‘Children Bank of India’, prompting an investigation into the embarrassing lapse, police said yesterday, months after the government’s shock cash ban triggered painful shortages.

A customer care executive claimed he had been taken for a ride after the automatic teller machine run by the government-owned State Bank of India spilled out the fake bills on February 6.

Instead of the logo of India’s central bank, the bills were marked ‘Children Bank of India’ and on the other side with a cheeky ‘Entertainment Bank of India’.

“The case is under investigation. We have seized the notes and informed the bank about the incident,” investigating officer Upender Singh told AFP.

The dummy pink notes looked similar to the newly minted 2,000-rupee notes introduced in November after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to ban all 500 and 1,000-rupee bills.

A police officer sent to the spot to verify the claims also received a fake 2,000-rupee (US $ 30) note when he withdrew money from the ATM, Singh said.

“We are trying to find how these notes found their way into the system. The bank has also launched an internal investigation.”

The fake bills matched the colour and font of the real notes but read ‘Guaranteed by the Children’s Government’ instead of ‘Guaranteed by the Central Government’.

The bills also showcased images of independence hero Mahatma Gandhi similar to the original notes but bore a ‘PK’ logo instead of the bank seal.

“I promise to pay the barer two thousand coupens,” read the mis-spelt message on the note instead of the statutory pledge of the central bank.

Such dummy notes are sold across India at roadside shops and are popular with children.

Modi’s move to ban the notes was aimed at ending large-scale tax evasion and counterfeiting of currency.

But the decision removed around 86 percent of India’s available cash at one stroke, triggering huge queues outside banks and ATMS and painful shortages for hundreds of millions of people reliant on hard currency.