The Palasia police on Tuesday busted a counterfeit currency racket, arresting two men from Maharashtra and seizing fake notes worth Rs40 lakh. The accused, Prathamesh Yewalekar from Jalgaon and Deepak Kaushal from Barwaha, were caught red-handed while trying to pass off fake currency cleverly hidden between genuine notes.
According to DCP Hansraj Singh, the police acted on a tip-off that individuals were circulating counterfeit money using WhatsApp. A special team was formed, and undercover officers posed as customers to strike a deal via the messaging app. The suspects agreed to meet in Palasia, where they were arrested after arriving with a bag full of fake notes.
Upon inspection, officers found 20 bundles of counterfeit currency, hidden between real notes at the top and bottom of each bundle to create the illusion of authenticity. They also recovered some genuine notes, which the suspects used to gain buyers’ trust.
During interrogation, the accused revealed they offered Rs4 lakh in fake notes for Rs1 lakh in genuine currency. The deal was finalized over WhatsApp prior to the meet. Police say the notes bore markings from the “Children Bank of India”, typically used as toy money, intended to scam unsuspecting buyers.
The accused admitted to showing buyers only the genuine-looking outer notes, then fleeing the scene quickly, pretending to fear police raids. The victims would only realize the deception later, by which time the suspects had vanished.
Additional DCP Ramsnehi Mishra stated that Prathamesh Yewalekar was the mastermind, with prior experience in such frauds. He introduced Deepak Kaushal to the scheme. The duo used social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook to advertise their services and regularly changed meeting spots to avoid detection.
Further investigations are underway to uncover links to a possible larger fake currency network.
