The gang was busted after a member travelled to Delhi with fake 2,000-rupee notes worth Rs 2.5 lakh.
Inspired by the Shahid Kapoor-starrer 'Farzi' and cashing in on the withdrawal of 2,000-rupee notes, an inter-state gang from Uttar Pradesh began printing counterfeit notes and exchanging them at a lower value. The fake notes were being circulated in Punjab and Delhi as well and, after extensive investigation, the gang has been busted with the arrest of a goldsmith and his accomplice.
The police said high-quality fake Indian currency notes (FICN) with a face value of Rs 5.5 lakh have been recovered from the duo along with fine quality paper, special ink and other materials used in the operation.
After noticing a spurt in circulation of fake currency in Delhi and adjoining states, the Delhi police's special cell began surveilling members suspected to be involved in a syndicate and found that a gang based in Kairana in UP's Shamli district was involved in the printing and trafficking of such notes.
Acting on a tip-off that a member of the gang was travelling to Delhi, the police laid a trap on June 21 and arrested Kairana resident Tajeem with fake 2,000-rupee notes which had a face value of Rs 2.5 lakh. During his interrogation, Tajeem revealed that his neighbour Irshad, a goldsmith, printed the fake notes in his shop and had convinced him to participate in their printing and smuggling.
A police team arrested Irshad from Kairana and recovered Rs 3 lakh in fake 2,000-rupee notes from his house. Paper sheets used to make fake currency notes, green foil sheet used for the 'security thread' and frames used to print the number 2000 on the notes with glow ink were recovered from his shop.
A senior police officer said, "Irshad, a small-time goldsmith suffered huge losses during the pandemic. After failing to make up for the losses through legal means, he thought about earning easy money by printing FICN as Kairana has been a hub for these activities earlier as well. He was also inspired by the web-series 'Farzi'."
Irshad began printing fake 2,000-rupee notes after the Reserve Bank of India announced their withdrawal in May.
The officer said Tajeem used to work in fabric dyeing since 1998 and used his knowledge and contacts in various states to help print and smuggle the fake currency. The duo procured the special ink online after looking for it on several websites.
'Farzi' centres around the character of Sunny, played by Shahid Kapoor, a disillusioned artist who turns to counterfeiting after creating the "perfect fake currency note". On his trail is Michael, played by Vijay Sethupathi, a special task force officer who wants to stamp out the menace of counterfeiting from India.