Palghar: Three men were arrested in Maharashtra's Palghar district on February 22 and counterfeit currency notes with a face value of Rs 14 lakh, marked with 'Children Bank of India,' were seized. The arrests followed a tip-off about suspects planning to exchange fake notes for genuine currency in Pali village.

A team from Wada police station set up surveillance in the area and noticed a man carrying a suspicious bag. Shortly after, two others arrived in a car to meet him. The police arrested all three and recovered fake currency in Rs 100 and Rs 500 denominations totaling Rs 14 lakh from the first suspect. They also seized Rs 1 lakh in genuine currency from the two individuals in the car, as per a Times of India report.

Fake Notes Hidden Among Real Currency Notes

The counterfeit currency was cleverly hidden among genuine notes. The bundles were arranged with authentic currency on the top and bottom, while the fake notes, bearing 'Children Bank of India' markings, were concealed in between.

The arrested individuals, aged 32, 36, and 56, are residents of Palghar. They allegedly planned to exchange Rs 3 lakh worth of fake notes for Rs 1 lakh in real currency. Police have registered a case against them under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including cheating, possession of counterfeit currency, and creating documents resembling currency notes.

According to the report, Wada police station inspector Dattatreya Kindre is leading the investigation to trace the source of the fake currency. Authorities revealed that similar incidents had previously occurred in Gorhe and Shirish Pada localities, where counterfeit currency was printed and circulated from homes.

In this case, investigators discovered that the primary suspect had acquired the fake notes from an external source and intended to pass them off as genuine by exchanging them. The police are now working to track the origin of these counterfeit notes and to uncover potential links to a larger counterfeiting network.