How Siddipet photographer, BSF constable printed fake currency notes worth Rs. 16 L

Hyderabad: A five-member gang, comprising a Siddipet photographer and a BSF constable, involved in printing and circulating counterfeit currency notes was busted on Thursday and fake currency worth Rs. 16 lakhs was seized.

The sleuths of the commissioner's task force, west zone, apprehended Chukkapuram Santosh Kumar (29), Janaki Sai Kumar (24), Dharmaji Neeraj Kumar (19), Jaligam Raju (20), and Sunkari Sinivas (31) who is a BSF constable. They were involved in printing and circulating fake Indian currency notes. The gang was operating for the past two months from Siddipet town.

The police seized 1,400 fake currency notes of Rs. 500 denomination (worth Rs. 7 lakh), 1,800 partial fake notes of Rs. 500 denomination (worth Rs. 9 lakh), and 50 partial fake notes of Rs. 200 denomination (worth Rs. 10,000). They also seized some equipment and other incriminating documents.

According to the police, Santosh is a photographer in Siddipet who wanted to open a studio. His friend, Janaki Sai Kumar, was facing financial problems and had incurred heavy debts. The two hatched a plan to print and circulate counterfeit currency notes. They used Photoshop to create the fake notes.

Later, they brought in Srinivas, Neeraj Kumar, and Raju to work on a commission basis. Santosh and Sai Kumar bought a laptop, a printer-cum-scanner, and rented a room in Raghavendra Colony, Siddipet. There, they printed the fake currency notes, cut them, and packed them into bundles. The gang would then circulate the fake notes in different areas on a 1:3 ratio.

On 19 August, the accused were caught near Yousufguda check-post with the fake notes.