A 26-year-old individual, identified as Praful Govind Patil, was arrested by the Central Unit of the Crime Branch of Navi Mumbai police on charges of producing and distributing counterfeit currency. Patil allegedly gained knowledge of the counterfeiting process by viewing instructional videos on YouTube.
Authorities confiscated 1,443 counterfeit currency notes valued at Rs 2 lakhs from Patil's residence in Taloja. Police reports indicate that Patil had already disseminated over Rs 1 lakh into the market within the past six weeks.
Patil, who has only completed ninth grade, was under financial stress and lived apart from his family. After learning how to print currency from YouTube, he procured the necessary materials and started producing fake notes at home.
The Central Unit of the Crime Branch received a tip-off about a man in possession of fake currency notes in Taloja. Under the guidance of Assistant Commissioner Ajay Landge, a team led by Senior Inspector Sunil Shinde and Inspector Harshal Kadam set a trap on Wednesday night. They apprehended Patil in the Taloja MIDC area, where they found some fake currency notes in his possession. A subsequent search of his house revealed a counterfeit currency printing setup and additional fake notes.
The police recovered 1,443 fake currency notes worth Rs 2 lakhs, including 574 fake notes of Rs 50, 33 of Rs 100, and 856 of Rs 200. “Praful is a ninth grader and lives separately from his family. He learned how to make fake currency notes on YouTube to meet the financial crisis. After that, he had gathered materials like cotton paper, printer, scanner, green-colored plastic strips to stick on the notes to make them look authentic. Through this, he started producing fake notes of Rs 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200,” said a senior police official from the Crime Branch.
In the last one and a half months, he circulated fake notes worth more than Rs 1 lakh. When some individuals became suspicious about the notes, they informed the police, leading to his arrest. A case has been registered against Praful Patil at the Taloja police station, and further investigations are ongoing.