Mumbai Crime: Vakola resident held for printing fake notes valuing Rs 1.35 lakh at home

Photo for representational purpose

A 38-year-old Vakola resident was arrested by Kherwadi police on Tuesday for allegedly printing fake notes in his house to the tune of Rs 1.35 lakh in the denomination of Rs 50 and Rs 100.

"The accused, Rahul Chadwa, a sole breadwinner in his family with no prior crime record, committed the crime nine months ago after his business in the stock market collapsed due to the ongoing pandemic," said Manjunath Shinge, DCP zone VIII, as per a report in The Indian Express.

Chadwa lives with his ailing mother, wife and two children in Vakola, said police. He is a school dropout and worked in the stock market. During the lockdown, the accused was unable to earn much.

The accused learnt to use a software with the help of YouTube videos and started printing counterfeit currency at home. He only made fake notes in the denomination of Rs 50 and Rs 100 to evade suspicion. He used about Rs 50,000 of such notes to pay vegetable vendors and rickshaw drivers.

"He used the currency only after sunset and during rush hours to pay vendors and rickshaw drivers. As the notes were of smaller amounts, no one suspected they were fake and it's difficult to spot the difference during night time," said Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Suryavanshi, who arrested Chadwa, acting on a tip-off.