: The alleged mastermind of the counterfeit coin racket, whose manufacturing unit was busted earlier this year, has been in the trade for the past 20 years and is suspected to have pumped in several crores into the economy, the Delhi Police Special Cell claimed on Tuesday.
Vast network
The cell had arrested Sweekar Luthra — who along with his brother Upkar is the alleged mastermind of the network which had its tentacles in places as far and wide as Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bihar — on Monday.
Upkar is currently on the run.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Yadav said Sweekar, who was once a snatcher, had joined the trade of manufacturing counterfeit coins in 1997 on the insistence of one Gulshan Gambhir of Dehradun. The latter was an associate of Upkar.
“In 1999, Upkar was held in Connaught Place with counterfeit coins of Rs. 5, but he did not disclose Sweekar’s name. Soon after being released from jail, Upkar again established an unit, this time in Anand Vihar, for making counterfeit coins,” said Mr. Yadav.
Another officer said while the brothers had been arrested multiple times in the past, securing a conviction for them had been difficult because each time they would assume different identities.
Two racketeers held
In October this year, a racket involved in manufacturing and circulating counterfeit coins was unearthed in Shiv Vihar, Nilothi Extension.
Counterfeit coins worth Rs. 5.86 lakh in the denomination of Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 were recovered from two racketeers— Gulshan and Sachin.
The kingpin of the syndicate was identified as Sweekar.
According to the police, Sweekar has been arrested in a similar case in the past. After coming out on bail, he had established counterfeit coin manufacturing units in Uttam Nagar.
His partner in the trade was one Ramesh Verma.
“In 2015, Ramesh established many such units in Bawana Industrial Area, Delhi, Ambala, and Nawalgarh, Rajasthan. Naresh, Gulshan and Sachin were some of those involved in the racket,” said Mr. Yadav.
Murder case
The brothers have also been accused of getting Ramesh murdered, said the police.
For this, they had sent Ramesh to Bihar and roped in contract killers to eliminate him there.
Soon after the murder, the killers were arrested by the Bihar Police.
