Gujarat ‘godman’, 6 ‘disciples’ arrested, fake currency with Rs 2.38 cr face value seized

On Thursday, the Ahmedabad DCB carried out raids at the Shree Satyam Yog Foundation in Surat and at the house of Mukesh Thummar and arrested one Bharatbhai Kakadiya, also known as Bharat Patel, and seized FICN of Rs 28 lakh in Rs 500 denominations. The police also seized blank papers, printing machines, colour inks, etc. from Surat.

The arrested accused have been identified as Pradeep Jotangiya (Pradeepji), Mukesh Thummar, Rameshbhai, Bharat Kakadiya, Ashok Mavani, Ramesh Balar, Divyesh Rana and a woman.

Police said Jotangiya, who runs the Shree Satyam Yog Foundation in Surat and is locally known as “Guruji”, was among the key figures in the group, with the others calling themselves as his “followers”.

According to investigators, the racket had produced counterfeit Rs 500 notes using specialised materials and equipment.

“They had been planning this for about six months,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Bharat Patel told The Indian Express.

Police said Thummar, who is “well-acquainted with computers”, played a central role in the racket. He is believed to have sourced information on counterfeit note production and procured high-quality paper with watermark-like features from China through his contacts. The group then set up a printing unit at a residential premises in Surat using professional printers and cutting machines.

“One A4 sheet could produce three notes,” Patel said, adding that the seized currency was of “high” quality.

Crime branch sources said that through an agent, the accused had made payments through cryptocurrency.

Police said that at first, the accused printed a small number of notes and circulated them through agents in different districts, and after observing the response, they started printing in large numbers and identified agents to circulate them in local markets.

Ahmedabad crime branch sources said that the accused had circulated counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs 20 lakh in the market.  The accused were paying 20 to 25 per cent commission to the agents for circulating the fake notes, police said.

The Ahmedabad police had sent some of the note samples to the Reserve Bank of India and the Forensic Science Laboratory for testing.

Ahmedabad Crime Branch Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajit Rajian said, “The note samples were sent to the RBI and FSL for testing. The fake notes are of a high quality. We are digging out more information from the accused. Others involved in the racket will be identified and arrested soon.”

“All the arrested are disciples of Guruji. In one of the meetings, they hatched a conspiracy of printing FICN. The notes were printed at Mukesh Thummer’s house in Sarthana. This gang had imported banned high-quality paper to India and were printing fake notes on it in the house of Thummer,” Rajian said.

Officials said the focus of the probe remains on tracing the supply of specialised paper, the extent of production and the role of each accused in the operation.