If the crime sounds like it’s inspired by the OTT thriller Farzi, helmed by Shahid Kapoor, that’s because it is. Shakur Mohammed (25) was indeed inspired when he saw Kapoor play the accomplished artist with a cash flow problem. he told Delhi Police after his luck ran out.
Image used for representational purpose only.
Like reel-life Sunny (Shahid’s character), Mohammedwas a painter. Despite the accolades he got for his street art, making a living by wielding the brush was hard. Shakur got five friends together and set up a facility to print the fake notes in Ajmer, Rajasthan. He and a friend, who was good with inks and chemicals, prepared the solution and printed the notes. Another was assigned the task of cutting the notes. The rest were responsible for supplying the fake Indian currency notes, or FICN, in different states.
Delhi Police’s Crime Branch, which got wind of the operation after the notes were found in the capital, busted the gang and seized fake currency from various places with a face value of Rs 19.84 lakh in counterfeit Rs 500 notes. Ravindra Yadav, special commissioner (crime), said the police seized printers, computers, laptops and uncut but printed sheets with currency markings that total to Rs 8.14 lakh. There were lamination machines, 19 ink bottles and chemicals too.
Police were somewhat shocked with the recovery of the “green thread line roll of RBI”, which the gang said they ordered from a website called India Mart. The thread line is a security feature on a currency note.
The police also seized frames used to imprint the numeral 500 on the fake notes with glow ink.
Arrested along with Mohammed were Lokesh (28), Himanshu (47), Shiv Lal (30) and Sanjay Godara (22). All are from Rajasthan.
The operation was conducted after the police got technical inputs and human intelligence. Two ASIs, Governor and Ajay, along with other team members started tracking the gang. The team was tipped off that the gang would come to Akshardham temple in Delhi to deliver a consignment. A trap was laid and the suspects arrested.
“High-quality FICN of the face value of Rs 6 lakh, in Rs 500 notes, were found. The suspects disclosed the identity of associates who too were arrested,” the special CP said.
Mohammed is a graduate and took to crime as he couldn’t find a job in Rajasthan. Lal is an NCC C certificate holder and was in huge debt, so he joined Mohammed. Himashu worked as an accountant and Lokesh ran an E-Mitra centre. “Lokesh was selected as a Grade-III teacher in Rajasthan. Godara has studied till Class XII,” the special CP said.
