Yoga instructor among 7 held in fake notes case

Ahmedabad: The city crime branch on Wednesday arrested seven persons, including a yoga instructor and a woman, and seized Rs 2.38 crore in counterfeit currency. Interrogation revealed they had been operating a printing unit from a Surat residence for nearly three months. A raid there yielded additional Rs 28 lakh in counterfeit notes along with printers, a laptop, a paper cutter and a counting machine.Acting on a tip-off, DCB police stopped a white SUV near Torrent Power in Amraiwadi on Wednesday and recovered 44,053 fake Rs 500 notes concealed in bags and a carton. The accused — Mukesh Thummar, Ashok Mavani, Ramesh Balar, Divyesh Rana, yoga instructor Pradip Jotangiya, Aarti Savalia, and Bharat Kakadiya — were arrested on the spot.The seized notes, modelled on the post-demonetisation series, carried fake watermarks and were printed on low-quality paper. Forensic examination confirmed them as counterfeit. Investigators said the group sourced specialized paper from Chinese suppliers online and used AI-based editing tools to replicate genuine notes. They were actively seeking buyers to push the currency into circulation, sources said.