Seven persons were arrested for allegedly printing and circulating counterfeit currency from Basna region of Mahasamund district on Thursday evening.
A sum of Rs 7,37,500 in counterfeit currency notes, a printing machine, mobile phones and papers used for printing currency were seized from possession of the accused, police informed.
“The accused Gautam Kumar Tondar (Arang, Raipur), Krishna Kumar Gnedre Muswadih, Baloda bazar, Chamru Patel, larnapali Basna, Manmohan Das Amsena Arang, Rupanand alias Rupesh Baitari, Basna, Surendra Chauhan Bilkhan Basna, Kamal Bariha Bilkhand Basna formed a group to earn easy money by circulating fake currency,” Superintendent of Police (SP), Mahasamund Santosh Singh said while addressing a press conference here.
The counterfeit currency was circulated in the district as well as in the neighbouring state of Odisha, he said.
A couple of days ago, police got a tip off that that a grey coloured van without bearing any registration number was making suspicious movement in the Pirda village of Basna , official informed.
A team of Crime Branch personnel with Basna Police Station personnel was sent to the village where they found four persons in the said van.
After intense interrogation , they admitted that they were involved in printing and circulation of counterfeit currency.
The printing work was done at residence of Kamal Bariha and around Rs 2 lakh fake currencies was in the van, they admitted.