Puducherry:
Police have taken a man arrested here recently on charge of circulating fake currency, into custody for further interrogation.
Judicial Magistrate Uthamaraj granted five days police custody after Mohammad Ismail, who had been lodged in the central prison since his arrest on January 19, was produced before a local court yesterday.
Ismail, hailing from Jharkhand, was arrested on a tip-off by a fruit stall owner after he gave him a Rs 1,000 note for fruits purchased by him. But the shop owner became suspicious of the genuineness of the currency note and informed police.
Counterfeit notes in the denomination of rs 500 and rs 1000 were seized from him.
Police have sought help of the National Investigation Agency to question Ismail as they suspect a "big conspiracy" with internatonal ramifications. Police are now on the lookout for five of his accomplices who are absconding.
Fake notes with face value of Rs two lakh had been seized from a lodge where the gang had been staying in Puducherry.