2 held for running counterfeit currency racket

MEERUT: Two men were arrested on Sunday in a joint operation by UP police and the Special Operations Group for allegedly running a counterfeit currency racket. The accused—Rajvardhan Singh Chauhan and Chirag Saxena, both in their 30s—were arrested following an April 1 seizure of fake notes having a face value of Rs 10,500 near Bilaspur Gate in Rampur.Chirag was first arrested near a mango orchard and Rajvardhan was later held from a flat in Chris Green Colony in Meerut. Police recovered fake currency worth Rs 4.88 lakh, including Rs 4.46 lakh in Rs 500 notes, along with partially printed notes of Rs 500, Rs 200 and Rs 100 denominations.A full-fledged setup used for printing fake notes was seized, including a laptop, desktop system, multiple printers, a lamination machine, specialised ink, foil and A4 bond paper. Two mobile phones were also recovered.A police officer said Rajvardhan learned the trade about a year ago after meeting a person on a bus who took him to Delhi. Rajvardhan later roped in his childhood friend Chirag, and the duo used Instagram to contact buyers. “They circulated fake notes through courier services or by calling clients to specific locations and exchanging them for genuine cash. The accused also admitted supplying fake notes to two men from Rampur earlier this year after Eid. Efforts are on to trace them,” the officer said.Rampur SP Somendra Meena said, “During questioning, the accused said he was inspired by a web series on counterfeit currency. We are verifying this claim. The network appears to be wider, and further investigation is underway.”