TNN | Updated: Dec 2, 2019, 5:55 IST
Visakhapatnam: The MVP Colony police seized fake currency notes worth Rs 2.96 lakh and arrested three people for carrying and circulating them in the city on Sunday. Cops also seized Rs 7,000 worth of genuine currency notes and three mobile phones from the trio.
Those arrested have been identified as KN Venkata Satya Narayana (49), Rowthu Jaya Ram (30) and Bontha Padma Rao (42). While Narayana and Jaya Ram are residents of Vizag, Padma Rao is from Vizianagaram.
In course of interrogation, the trio revealed that they obtained the fake currency from Shaik Abdul Rehman from Chodavaram in Visakhapatnam district and Sayyed Mujibur Rehman from East Godavari district. The police have launched a manhunt for them.
During a press conference, city police commissioner RK Meena said that those arrested— Satya Narayana and Padma Rao are realtors and Jaya Ram is Satya Narayana’s driver. According to the police, the trio had obtained the fake Indian currency notes (FICN) of Rs 3 lakh face value in Rs 2,000 and Rs 100 denominations.
The police said that the trio obtained the fake currency from Shaik Abdul Rehman and Sayyed Mujibur Rehman by paying Rs 1.17 lakh genuine currency on 1:3 basis.
The fake currency was slated to be circulated across Visakhapatnam and surrounding areas, the police informed.
News of fake currency being circulated began spreading when the trio exchanged Rs 2,000 worth of fake notes at Chodavaram in Visakhapatnam district a couple of days ago.
Upon receiving concrete information that some people are circulating fake currency at HB Colony and the Steel Plant quarters area, the MVP Colony police, led by Ch Shanmukha Rao carried out a raid at HB Colony.
Police officials said they suspect that the fake currency was pumped in either from Pakistan or Bangladesh.
Shaik Abdul Rehman and Sayyed Mujibur Rehman might have obtained the currency from parts of West Bengal which share a border with Bangladesh, the police officials said.
The police have launched a comprehensive probe on suspicion that a racket may be going on and other people might be involved in the circulation of fake currency in Visakhapatnam.