Nawanshahar: A Ludhiana-based former defence official has been arrested for allegedly printing and circulating counterfeit currency notes in Punjab and Bihar. Fake currency worth Rs.500,000 has been recovered from him, police said.
According to police, the accused was identified Surinderpal Singh, 71. He had served in the army till 1971.
"Working on a tip-off, we laid a trap and arrested Surinderpal for printing and circulating fake currency notes. We have recovered fake currency worth a face value of Rs.5 lakh from his possession. The notes are of very fine quality and they are in denominations of Rs.1,000 and Rs.500," Narinder Bhargav, senior superintendent of police, Nawanshahar, told reporters Monday.
"We have also seized his printer, scanner and computer system. He has contacts in Bihar and in different parts of Punjab and we are interrogating him to ascertain his links. Very soon we will make more arrests," he said.
Police said Surinderpal was into this illegal business since 1988 and eight similar cases are registered against him in different parts of Punjab.
Bhargav said Surinderpal had been bringing a special paper with an image of Mahatma Gandhi - which appears on Indian currency notes - from Bihar. He was in touch with some waiters of a Bihar hotel, police said.
IANS
