- Telangana police busted a gang printing fake Rs 500 notes learned from YouTube videos
- Bezawada Rajeev and wife Durgam Pavani were arrested with counterfeit notes and printing materials
- Fake notes were made on high-quality bond paper and circulated in crowded shops and markets
The Telangana police busted a counterfeit currency manufacturing gang that learned to print fake notes by watching YouTube.
Police arrested Bezawada Rajeev, alias Raju, 38, and his wife Durgam Pavani, 26, and seized counterfeit currency notes, a printer-scanner, paper stock and other materials used in the production of fake Rs 500 notes.
The accused had established a small-scale counterfeit currency operation after acquiring technical know-how through online videos.
Telangana couple uses YouTube videos to print fake Rs 500 notes, arrested pic.twitter.com/Z9SO7yWZi0
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"The accused learned the process of printing fake currency from YouTube videos. They purchased an HP printer, bond paper and other materials online and started manufacturing counterfeit Rs 500 notes at their residence," Nalgonda DSP K. Shivaram Reddy said.
According to investigators, the accused printed the fake notes on high-quality bond paper, cut them to currency size using scissors and steel rulers, and attempted to make them resemble genuine notes before circulating them in public places.
"The gang specifically targeted crowded shops, weekly markets and business establishments where transactions are quick and counterfeit notes are less likely to be detected immediately. Elderly shopkeepers were among their preferred targets," DSP added.
The racket came to light after a milkman, Avula Kiran, received a fake Rs 500 note and lodged a complaint with the police.
A special police team was constituted to trace the accused, which nabbed them at their residence on June 15.
During the raid, police seized 15 counterfeit Rs 500 notes worth Rs 7,500, an HP printer-cum-scanner believed to have been used for printing the notes, 100 sheets of bond paper, cut paper pieces, scissors, steel rulers, a sparkle pen and an unregistered Pulsar motorcycle.
The police are now investigating the scale of the operation and whether more persons are linked to the network.
Investigations further revealed that Rajeev is a repeat offender with a lengthy criminal history, including one murder case, one attempt-to-murder case and seven counterfeit currency cases registered in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. A rowdy sheet is also pending against him at Miryalaguda I Town Police Station.
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