Noida: Three members of a gang, among them a BSc graduate, a law student and a BA final-year student, have been arrested in Greater Noida for allegedly printing and circulating counterfeit currency across Delhi-NCR and parts of UP. They told the police that they had allegedly learnt the technique from Instagram reels and offered Rs 7 lakh in fake notes for Rs 1 lakh in cash.Cops from Ecotech 1 police station and Greater Noida special operations group had set up a regular checkpoint at Sirsa Gol Chakkar on Monday. Around 10.50pm they came across a black Scorpio and stopped it. The three men inside the SUV were identified as Bunty Atri (23), a BSc graduate from Palar village in Aligarh; Khushdil (21), a law student from Kaseru village in Chandaus, Aligarh; and Upendra Kumar (25), a BA final-year student from Aligarh’s Jala Kaseru village. While searching their car, the cops found 2,549 notes of Rs 100 denomination, but they had the same serial number.Police seized the counterfeit notes, a printer, a cutting machine and the SUV. The three men were also arrested.The gang had been active for more than a year, the cops said. The investigators are probing the extent of its operations and attempting to identify people who might have bought or circulated the counterfeit notes.Additional deputy commissioner of police (Greater Noida) Abhay Kumar Mishra said, “The men used to scan Rs 100 notes and made copies using their printer. They then used a cutting machine to separate the notes from printed sheets. To make the counterfeit currency appear genuine, the accused allegedly placed real notes on the top and bottom of bundles.”Police added that each counterfeit note cost Rs 10-15 to make. The gang did not attempt to forge Rs 500 notes because the market checks them more closely. The gang allegedly attached Canara Bank deposit forms to the bundles with rubber bands to make them look authentic.Police sources said the accused used their earnings to buy USDT, a US dollar-pegged cryptocurrency.ADCP Mishra said they are examining the seized mobile phones and digital transactions to trace the money trail.Station house officer of Ecotech 1 police station said that a case has been registered against the men under BNS sections 178 (counterfeiting coin, govt stamps, currency-notes or bank-notes), 179 (using as genuine, forged or counterfeit coin, govt stamp, currency-notes or bank notes) and 180 (possession of forged or counterfeit coin, govt stamp, currency-notes or bank-notes). Further investigation is under way to establish the network’s reach.
