Man prints fake notes to fund kin’s release

VADODARA: An

auto-rickshaw driver

took to printing and circulating

fake Indian currency notes

to finance release of his brother who is in jail for the same offence.

Abid Mohammed Pathan

was arrested by Vadodara rural police near Kelanpur railway station on Monday. When police frisked Pathan, they found 44 notes of Rs 500 denomination each. The police called Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) officials on the spot, who confirmed that the notes are fake. On questioning him about the source of the notes, Pathan told the police that he used to print the notes in a printer at his home.

Cops then went to his home at Kishannagar in Vadodara taluka where it was learnt that Pathan used to scan the original notes and print its colour copy. On searching his home, the police found 77 notes of Rs 2,000 denomination, 1,652 notes of Rs 500 and 238 notes of Rs 100 denomination. A police official said that the total face value of the fake notes was over Rs 10 lakh.

Pathan used to scan the original notes and print them on A4 size paper. On each paper he used to print four notes, the police said. Pathan used to use cello tape as security thread.

During interrogation, Pathan told police that his brother was arrested several months back by Panigate police for printing fake notes. “To release his brother from jail, he started printing the notes around six months back and started exchanging them in market only a month ago,” said SA Karmur, police inspector, special operations group of Vadodara rural police.

He had learnt to print fake notes from his brother, Pathan admitted to the police. An FIR was registered against him at Varnama police station for counterfeiting, possessing and using fake currency notes and possessing instruments for counterfeiting currency notes.