Rs 25 Crore Found By Bengaluru Ragpicker "Printed Or Photocopied": Police

A Bengaluru ragpicker stumbled upon several bundles of US dollars worth $3 million (Rs 25 crore) in a pile of garbage. But after examination, police have discovered that the notes are fake.

Salman Sheikh found 23 bundles of notes in a pile of garbage on November 1 in Bengaluru's Hebbal.

"I was doing my job and I suddenly saw this bag at 1 pm. I saw lots of cash. I just fainted. I have never seen so much money. I knew they were not Indian currency," he said.

Along with the money, Sheikh also found a letter with the UN seal. "The economic and finance committee puts in place a special fund which was voted by members of the Security Council to assist the UN peacekeeping forces in South Sudan," the note said.

He took the bundles to his boss Bappa on November 5, who in turn contacted social activist Kalimullah.

Mr Kalimullah flagged the incident to the police, who found that the notes were laced with chemicals. Cops initially thought that the notes were related to the black dollar scam, in which fraudsters lure people with a promise to double any amount of money.

But after a thorough examination of the notes, Bengaluru Police confirmed that they were fake. The notes were examined by the Reserve Bank of India, and the officials said that the notes were "photocopied or printed".

A case has been registered and an investigation is on.