A vigilant cashier at a private hospital in Attingal helped the police on Thursday bust a well-entrenched Statewide racket that injected fake Indian currency notes into general circulation routinely and undetected since early 2018. His tip-off led to the seizure of fake currency valued at ₹16 lakh.
The clerk had found a phoney ₹500 note in a payment made by one Rajan Pathrose, 61, to settle his daughter’s hospital bill. He later found two fake ₹2,000 notes in an additional payment made by the accused. Sensing a pattern, the clerk informed the District Police Chief, Thiruvananthapuram Rural, P. K. Madhu.
The police raided the house of Rajan in Kadackavoor and recovered more fake notes. Based on his statement, they arrested one Wahab of Pothencode and Pratapan of Chirayankeezhu. They traced the source of the notes to one Shameer from Kozhikode.
Setting the trap
Investigators set a trap for Shameer. Through Wahab, they placed an order for ₹3 lakhs in exchange for ₹1 lakh in cash. They detained Shameer when he reached Attingal with the fake currency.
The police said that Shameer, 38, a school dropout, had studied DTP and fabrication. He was in the Gulf for several years. On his return, Shameer opened a DTP centre at Mukkom, near Kallanthode, in Kozhikode. Shameer told officers that he had embarked on currency forgery to make quick money to settle his debts.
Investigators said Shameer procured modern scanners and printers online and through traders in Karnataka. He also obtained a unique paper of almost banknote thickness. He scanned original notes and then reprinted the images on the paper using the colour printers. He also cleverly and painstakingly duplicated the security thread and other visible features on notes.
Poor imitation
An investigator said suspect notes lacked the “near originality” of foreign-printed fake Indian currency notes that had entered circulation in the pre-demonetisation period.
The accused did not possess the technology or prowess to duplicate the latest notes that boast a shinier finish, advanced machine-readable security features, and higher paper quality.
However, the notes were good enough for the accused to palm off to cashiers in busy bar hotels and at crowded evening markets where vigil against counterfeit currency is relatively slack. However, the hoax could unravel if the accused used the forged notes to make bulk payments.
DySP, Attingal, K A Vidhyadharan and CI, V. V. Bipin, investigated the case.
