Journalism of Courage
The police custody of six persons, arrested in connection with the seizure of Indian and foreign counterfeit notes of face value Rs 87 crore in Pune, was extended till June 20 on Monday. Further probe by the police has confirmed that the suspects had procured the counterfeit Indian notes from Mumbai and US dollar notes from Hyderabad.
In a joint operation conducted by the Southern Command Liaison Unit (SCLU) of Military Intelligence (MI) and teams from the Crime Branch of Pune City Police, massive stacks of counterfeit currency were seized from a bungalow in Sanjay Park locality in Vimannagar on June 10.
The action has till now led to the arrest of six persons, including Shaikh Alim Gulab Khan (36), a serving jawan currently attached to an Army establishment in Pune, who is believed to the mastermind of the racket. His arrested accomplices include Ritesh Ratnaakar (34), Tuhaul Ahmed Ishaq Khan (28), Abdul Gani Khan (43), Abdul Rehman Abdul Gani Khan (19), all four from Mumbai, and Sunil Sarda (40), from Pune.
Almost all the seized notes were play notes marked ‘Children’s Bank of India’ on Indian currency, or ‘United States of American Children’ on US dollars. The suspects were first produced before the court on June 11 and remanded to police custody till Monday. A court in Pune on Monday extended their police custody till June 20.
