The Jagraon police arrested Harbhagwan Singh, the mastermind of a counterfeit currency racket, after he had been on the run for about seven months. Singh, also known as Mithun, is from Baghelewala village in Moga. He was arrested by the Jagraon CIA (Criminal Investigation Agency) staff after evading authorities since the racket was uncovered earlier this year.
During police questioning, Singh revealed that he learned how to print counterfeit currency by watching YouTube videos. Initially, the gang focused on printing fake ₹500 notes but later switched to ₹100 and ₹200 notes. They realized that shopkeepers were more cautious with larger denominations like ₹500, scanning the notes to check for authenticity, which made it riskier to circulate them. To avoid getting caught, they decided to use smaller denominations.
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Singh was presented in court on Tuesday and sent to police custody for two days for further questioning. The police are investigating the case to determine if a larger network is involved.
The racket first came to light seven months ago when Kuldeep Singh, another key member of the group, was arrested at the Chawkimann bus stand while trying to distribute fake notes. Police recovered counterfeit currency worth ₹5,800 from his possession, which led to Harbhagwan Singh being named in the case.
Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Dharminder Singh revealed that both Harbhagwan and Kuldeep had been involved in similar activities before, having been arrested for printing counterfeit money three years ago. After their release from jail, they resumed their illegal operation. Police are now focusing on uncovering the full extent of the racket, suspecting a broader network may be involved in the distribution of the counterfeit currency.