A cheat who was circulating counterfeit coins has been arrested by the city police on Sunday. His search led to the recovery of 11,137 fake coins of five rupee denomination amounting to Rs 55,685. Identified as Om Prakash (30), a native of Siwan district in Bihar, he was living in Deepak Vihar area of Noida.
Acting on a specific about the movement of Om Prakash, a police team intercepted two bike-borne suspects near Sector 62 on Saturday night. “They tried to escape after being cornered. A chase started and the police team managed to catch Om Prakash while his associate and the main accused Ram Singh, managed to escape with the bike,” said a police official. Om Prakash was carrying a bag and the frisking led to the recovery of counterfeit coins with a face value of Rs 55,000.
Om Prakash was put to sustained interrogation and spilled the beans about his shady activities. “He used to sell fruits initially to sustain himself. He was enticed by one Ram Singh to circulate fake coins in the market on a commission basis. They used to get fake coins from Bihar and circulated the same in the NCR region,” said Charan Singh Sharma, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Sector 58 police station. Police suspect more people would be involved in the crime. Meanwhile, a hunt is on to arrest Ram Singh on the run.
“Their modus operandi was to circulate these coins in the vegetable markets. A police team has been detailed to hunt down the main suspect and also identify the source where such coins are being manufactured,” the SHO added.