On Saturday (3rd February), the Telangana police arrested two men for printing fake Indian currency notes and circulating them in Hyderabad.
As per reports, the accused were identified as Laxminarayana and Pranay. The cops seized over 800 fake notes of Rs 500 denominations as well as material assembled to print fake currencies.
The police informed that it had recovered fake money worth over Rs 4 lakh from the duo. The accused men were inspired by the Shahid Kapoor-starrer web series ‘Farzi’ which depicts the hero running a fake currency racket.
#WATCH | Telangana Police yesterday busted a counterfeit currency circulating racket and arrested two persons, who were inspired by the 'Farzi' web series
— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2024
Anjaneyulu, Police Inspector of Allapur Police Station said, "The prime accused is Laxminarayana. We have seized 810 fake Rs… pic.twitter.com/8GdyfQkZwP
Laxminarayana and Pranay were later taken into police custody.
Police Inspector of Allapur Police Station Anjaneyulu said, “The prime accused is Laxminarayana. We have seized 810 fake Rs 500 notes from his possession which was intended to be circulated… Printer, scanner, and other things were seized. He was previously involved in a gold cheating case. After being inspired by the ‘Farzi’ web series, he decided to print fake notes and circulate them in the market. One of his friends Pranay had already circulated fake notes worth Rs.3,00,000 a few days back. Both the accused have been arrested and sent to judicial remand.”
The main accused Vanam Laxminarayana has computer expertise and allegedly used a screen printer, green foil paper, JK Excel bond papers, cutters, and a lamination machine to pull off the crime, as per Police Inspector Anjaneyulu.
After getting inspired by the ‘Farzi’ web series, he decided to print fake notes and circulate them in the market.
The investigation revealed that Laxminarayana, was previously involved in a mortgage fraud. He also involved Kumar in the crime by promising him a share of the profits. The other accused, Erukala Pranay Kumar was testing fake money at a fruit and vegetable market with Rs 20,000 in fake currency when he was arrested.
The Cyberabad Special Operations Team collaborated with the Allapur police and executed the arrests of the duo V Laxminarayana (37) and E Pranay Kumar (26). Both the accused hail from Warangal and reside in different areas within the city. The Special Operations Team acted on a tip-off to intervene and arrest the duo.
As per reports, the duo were seeking potential buyers and aimed to exchange the counterfeit notes at a ratio of 1:4. However, their plans were foiled when the Special Operations Team received information which ultimately led to their arrest.
