Bid to sell fake currency of Rs 1L for Rs 50K foiled

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

City Chowk police have arrested a record criminal, Santosh Vishram Shirsaat (Rajivnagar, Jahagirdar Colony) along with 400 fake currency notes of

Rs 500 denominations brought for selling in Shahgunj, recently.

It so happened that the City Chowk police station’s senior police inspector Nirmala Pardeshi got a tip that one unidentified person is coming in the city to dispose of the fake currency notes. Acting upon his order, PSI Arjun Kadam and his team laid a trap in front of the House of Plastics in Shahgunj and as soon as Shirsaat arrived with a cotton bag, the cops detained and brought him to the police station for investigation. The police seized 400 fake notes of Rs 500 denominations. When pressed hard, Shirsaat confessed that he had brought the fake currency (of valuing Rs 1 lakh) to sell it for Rs 50,000. A police team comprising Suresh Bodkhe, Anand Wahul, Anwez Shaikh, Pravin Tekle, and Baban Ippar participated in the action.

Changed the venue twice

Shirsaat first decided to dispose of the fake currency at Mill Corner. However, he smelled a rat and canceled the spot. The squad was camping there from 6 pm. He again changed the venue. Later on, the cops got a hint that he was in Shahgunj. Accordingly, the police trapped him at 8 pm.

The bank officials accompanying the police checked and claimed that the currency notes were fake. It has been revealed during the investigation that big malls and petrol pumps in commercial markets of the city like Paithan Gate, Sarafa Market, Gulmandi, Shahgunj, etc were their target areas to circulate the currency.

Santosh is an expert in silver line

Earlier, the crime branch had arrested Santosh while he was operating a fake currency unit on September 16, 2022. The Shirsaat gang was selling fake currency of Rs 10,000 for Rs 3,000 (real). The unit was set up in a fabrication cum puncture shop at Ghardon by Hanumant Navpate, Charan Shihare, Prem Shihare, Kiran Kolge, Haroon Khan Pathan and Santosh.

The prime accused Santosh was a mechanic and was running a garage in the Railway Station area. He is an expert in inserting silver line (security thread) in the fake currency after its printing. Hence after releasing from jail he again got active by contacting the agents and started to print the fake currency.

Meanwhile, the police have failed to crack the modus operandi of the gang in last 48 hours. Besides, he has been booked under Section 489-A. Hence the legal expert claims that crime gets weak during the legal proceedings.