A Bengaluru man identified as Michael Raiwan alias Rahul Fernandes, 39, was arrested by the Surat Police for forging Indian currency notes. The officials have also seized fake 500 rupee currency notes worth Rs. 4.89 lakh.
He was brought to Surat and handed over to the Amroli police for further investigation.
On April 15, a native of Rajasthan’s Devgarh, residing at Surat’s Chhaprabhata area, Shantilal Mevada, 35, was apprehended by the Amroli police, after he tried to use a fake banknote at Amroli 1’s pan shop. After identifying the fake currency, the shopkeeper caught Shantilal Mevada. Later, the police seized 32 counterfeit 500-rupee notes worth Rs 16,000 from Shantilal Mevada’s house.
Shantilal later revealed that he got the counterfeit currency notes from his cousin Vishnu Mevada, 36. Following that, the Amroli police seized 32 fake 50-rupee notes and 149 forgeries of 500-rupee notes from Vishnu’s home.
During the investigation, the two cousins told police that Michael Raiwan gave them the fake currency notes. A Surat police team then arrived in Bengaluru and arrested Raiwan.
Surat police commissioner Ajay Kumar Tomar said, “By seizing a large number of fake currency notes, we have prevented it from getting circulated in the market. The quality of fake notes is good and it is difficult to identify. We are trying to dig out more information…”
According to Surat police sources, Rahul met the Mevada cousins through a common friend. The Mevada cousins reportedly intended to use such notes in tea shops, snack bars, and pan stalls. After having a significant amount of debt, Raiwan devised a plan to produce counterfeit currency by learning from YouTube videos. He successfully printed the fake notes at a printing press located in Bengaluru. Currently, the police are conducting an investigation to identify the other individuals involved in the criminal operation.
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