- A routine raid in Madhya Pradesh has busted a major counterfeit currency gang led by a doctor
- Dr Pratik Navlakhe, a former government medical officer, has now been arrested
- The gang, formed in jail, printed fake notes in bulk, circulated them and even purchased property with them
What began as a routine raid at a maulana's rented room in a quiet village in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa has exploded into one of the state's biggest counterfeit currency scandals. The mastermind behind the racket is not a criminal mastermind from the underworld, but an MBBS doctor, a former government medical officer turned fraudster, who built an inter-state fake currency empire from a rented room in Bhopal.
In a sensational breakthrough, the Khandwa Police on Friday announced the arrest of Dr Pratik Navlakhe, along with three associates, revealing how a gang formed inside the Khandwa District Jail evolved into a full-fledged counterfeit currency network operating across multiple states.
The police said the gang printed fake notes in bulk, circulated them in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and even purchased property using counterfeit cash.
Dr Navlakhe (43), an MBBS doctor from Burhanpur, once held respected posts as a medical officer and later Resident Medical Officer (RMO) at the Burhanpur District Hospital. But behind his seemingly normal career was a history of financial fraud.
He was earlier accused of embezzling crores of rupees while serving in government positions. After being jailed and later released, he used his medical credentials as a veneer while plotting something far bigger.
Instead of returning to medicine, he rented a flat in Bhopal's Gokuldham Society, set up printers, scanners, cutters, dyes, and began printing high-quality counterfeit currency. He appointed agents in Nagpur, Malegaon, and other cities. According to the police, the gang has circulated nearly Rs 40 lakh worth of fake notes so far.
The scandal first surfaced on November 2, when Jawar Police received a tip from villagers in Pethiya that maulana Zuber Ansari, already arrested in Maharashtra for fake currency, may have hidden counterfeit notes in his Khandwa room.
The raid proved explosive.
The police recovered Rs 19.78 lakh in fake Rs 500 notes, along with a note-cutting machine and raw materials. The notes had poor-quality security threads and mismatched printing, confirming they were counterfeit.
What initially appeared to be a small case swiftly widened into a massive interstate forgery network.
Sensing the gravity of the case, Superintendent of police (SP) Manoj Kumar Rai formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Assistant Superintendent of police (ASP) Mahendra Taranekar, with Deputy Superintendent of police (DSP) Anil Singh Chauhan, Town Inspector (TI) Praveen Arya, and other senior officers.
As the SIT dug deeper, they discovered that the maulana was not the mastermind; he was only a "carrier manager", transporting fake notes, and the real controller was hiding in Bhopal.
On November 23, acting on a confidential tip, the SIT stormed into Gokuldham Society in Bhopal. Inside a small rented room, they found printers, cutters, drying machines, computers, stacks of paper sheets and fake notes in different stages of printing.
The mastermind doctor was arrested along with Gopal alias Rahul (35), Harda, Dinesh Gore (43) and equipment worth lakhs and dozens of financial documents.
Investigations revealed the gang's origins inside the Khandwa District Jail, where the accused met while serving time in different cases. Upon release, they regrouped and launched a counterfeiting empire.
Incidentally, the doctor himself had earlier fallen victim to a gold fraud in Kolkata, where a conman sold him hallmarked fake jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh.
The gang even set up a bogus travel agency on Hoshangabad Road in Bhopal. While the signboard displayed tickets and tours, inside, they were running a fully functional fake-currency operation. They used the office to recruit agents, launder counterfeit notes, and transport fake currency to Nagpur, Malegaon, and Jalgaon.
ASP Mahendra Taranekar said, "Dr Pratik Navlakhe was identified as the mastermind. We formed an SIT and traced him to Bhopal. In Gokuldham Society, we found three men and a fully active currency-printing setup. These people met in jail. They used to print four Rs 500 notes on a single sheet. The notes were circulated in various states. Till now, around Rs 40 lakh has been printed. They even tried printing Rs 50 notes earlier. The maulana's role was limited as he collected money and found buyers. The doctor had earlier escaped on the Char Dham Yatra to avoid arrest."
