Cops held Shivaji Pawar (51), along with his accomplice Prabhunath Goyal (37), for depositing 93 fake notes of Rs 1,000 denomination at Punjab-Maharashtra Bank in Pydhonie
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At a time when huge quantities of defunct currencies are being exchanged and deposited at banks, a Mumbai Port Trust employee thought that he could get away with some fake notes. Result: He landed in police custody. Cops arrested Shivaji Pawar (51), along with his accomplice Prabhunath Goyal (37), for depositing 93 fake notes of Rs 1,000 denomination at Punjab-Maharashtra Bank in Pydhonie. They were produced in the magistrate’s court and remanded to police custody till November 24.
The cashier of the bank registered a case on November 18 when he realised that the notes were fake. Senior inspector of Pydhonie police station, Deepak Kundal said, “While depositing the money, the cashier asked Pawar for his PAN details. He provided the information and left the bank in a hurry. During the audit session in the evening, the cashier realised that the notes were fake. The branch authorities immediately contacted us and we reached the office thereafter to get the details.”
Family clueless
After confirming that the currencies were counterfeits, a team was formed to nab him. “When we went to his place on Friday, he was not home. His family didn’t have a clue about his crime,” said a police officer.
More people involved?
“Around 2.30 pm on Saturday, we spotted Pawar near the bank. Our team nabbed him,” said assistant police inspector Vijay Kumar Ruchnkar. “During interrogation it was revealed that another man by the name Prabhunath Goel helped him. We have arrested him as well,” he added. Pawar and Goel have been arrested under sections 489-B (using counterfeit currency as genuine) and 489-C (possession of counterfeit currency), 34 (common intention) of IPC.
“We are trying to get information about the source of money as more people may be involved in the racket,” said a cop.