An alert citizen on Tuesday helped the police arrest a gang of five that had come to the city from West Bengal to circulate fake currency notes. The police raided a lodge in Cottonpet, where the men were staying, and recovered 253 currency notes of Rs. 1,000 denomination.
One of the men, identified as Ajazul Haq (22), was seen in Vivek Nagar running around to get change for a Rs. 1,000 note. A shopkeeper who examined the currency note smelt a rat and informed the police, who rushed to the spot and detained Haq. According to the men, a gang in Malda district, West Bengal, was sending them to the city on a commission basis. The police are now looking into the possibility of the men being part of an international fake currency racket.