Police arrest kingpin, two others in fake currency racket

Ramanagara: Ijoor police have arrested three key accused, including the alleged kingpin, in connection with a fake currency printing racket operating from a house under construction in Shantilal Layout, Ramenagara. The latest arrests take the total number of accused arrested in the case to 10. Those arrested have been identified as Ashraf Ali, 35, a native of Chamarajanagar, and Manju, 37, and Nagaraj, 48, from Kanakapura. Police said Ashraf Ali is suspected to be the kingpin of the counterfeit currency network. The arrests are expected to provide crucial leads into the functioning of the racket. Investigators are questioning the accused to establish who else was involved, how the fake notes were produced and how they were allegedly circulated after being printed.

The racket came to light after Ijoor police raided a house under construction in Shantilal Layout on August 31 and arrested seven people. The accused were allegedly engaged in producing counterfeit ₹200 and ₹500 notes at the premises. The police had also recovered materials and equipment allegedly used in the operation, including paper, chemicals, cloth, glass sheets, tables and other items. The seven people arrested in the first operation were identified as house owner Santosh of Gattipura in Magadi taluk, Sampath of Mayaganahalli, Rajesh of Ijoor, Renukaraj of DK Layout in Kanakapura, Shivaraj of Kallahalli Gate, Govindaraj of Kallahalli village in Hoskote taluk and Satish from Pandavapura.