Ex-serviceman and lawyer held in Chennai for circulating fake currency notes; 90 bundles seized

According to police, the lawyer said that fake currency notes with a face value of Rs 5 lakh had already been circulated.

The Chennai police have arrested an ex-serviceman and a lawyer for allegedly circulating counterfeit or fake currency notes of Rs 500, and recovered 90 bundles of fake notes with a face value of Rs 45.20 lakh from the lawyer’s home.

Annamalai, a resident of Palliakaranai in Chennai, was arrested after a flower seller opposite Valluvar Kottam at Nungambakkam found something odd about a 500 note that the former had given him, and called the police control room on Thursday evening.

“Annamalai confessed that his friend used to provide him with counterfeit notes and exchange them in flower shops and small provisional stores. Based on his statement, a team led by the Nungambakkam police inspector picked up Annamalai’s friend V Subramanian (62), an advocate from Virugambakkam,” Triplicane Deputy Commissioner of Police Deshmukh Shekar Sanjay told reporters on Friday.

Annamalai had been part of an armed force for about 10 years before being declared a deserter and dismissed from service, according to the police.

The DCP said that Subramanian had got counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs 50 lakh printed at a local press. “As per Subramanian’s confession, he printed these counterfeit notes about five months ago. He said that about Rs 5- lakh fake notes had already been circulated,” he added.

In his complaint, Mani, the flower seller, said he had seen Annamalai four or five times at his shop. The police noted that despite his home being closer to the Koyambedu wholesale market, Subramanian had sent Annamalai to a shop near Valluvar Kottam to exchange counterfeit notes.

The DCP added that the police would see if more people were involved in circulating the fake notes. “The seized counterfeit notes look like colour xerox copies printed on high quality paper. None of the security features present on the RBI notes can be found on these fake notes. So even the general public can identify these notes as fake. If people have any suspicion, they can check with a nearby bank and alert police if they are found to be fake.”

A case was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 489 A, 489 B, 489 C and 489 D for counterfeiting any currency note, using counterfeit as genuine, possession of fake currencies, etc.

A printing machine, paper cutting machine, lens, money counting machine and other equipment were also seized from Subramanian’s home, the police said.

With Thanks Reference to: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/ex-serviceman-lawyer-held-chennai-fake-currency-90-bundles-8898667/