Hyderabad: Two held for printing 'Farzi' notes, Rs 27L seized

Hyderabad: The Commissioner's Task Force south zone team, along with Chandrayangutta Police, in a joint operation, apprehended two people on Monday for their alleged involvement in the printing and circulation of fake Indian currency notes in Telangana and other states. Police seized Rs 27 lakh of fake currency notes and other materials from them.

The arrested persons are Hassan Bin Hamood (31) of Hyderabad and Rameshwari of Narayanpet district. According to police, Kasturi Ramesh Babu, the prime accused, who is currently absconding is a car mechanic and a native of Kosgi, Narayanpet district. During the lockdown, he faced a financial crisis and decided to earn money through illegal means. He learnt about the printing and circulation of fake Indian currency notes and procured all materials and printed Indian fake currency and kept it in the market for circulation. Meanwhile, he was arrested by Gopalapuram police station in September 2022 and was sent to jail.

While he was in jail, Ramesh Babu met Hassan Bin Hamood, who was lodged in jail in a murder case, and became friends. "Soon after the release from jail, Ramesh Babu and his family shifted to Tandur. He then procured raw material for further preparation of fake currency notes along with his sister Rameshwari. He started printing fake currency denominations of Rs 500 notes and circulated the same in Gujarat," said Dr Shabarish P, DCP crimes.

Further, in the month of January 2023, Ramesh Babu was arrested by Gujarat police in fake Indian currency notesand remanded to judicial custody. Later, Rameshwari contacted Hassan Bin Hamood and shifted all the materials including fake Indian currency notes to Chandrayangutta for further circulation," said Shabarish.

On receiving information about the racket, the Commissioner's Task Force, South Zone Team, along with Chandrayangutta Police, apprehended the accused persons and seized fake Indian currency notes of Rs 27 lakh and other material, including laptop, printer, laminator, paper roll, spray paint and Kent paper cutter. The accused and seized property were handed over to the Chandrayangutta police for further investigation.