Fake currency worth ₹17 crore found at Punjab National Bank chest, SIT set up for probe
PNB earlier suspended three bank officials whose roles came under suspicion during the bank’s preliminary inquiry into the discovery of the fake currency.
The Uttar Pradesh Police have formed a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate allegations of counterfeit currency worth approximately ₹17 crore stored at a Punjab National Bank (PNB) currency chest in Saharanpur. The probe has been expanded to include neighbouring districts, as well as Haryana and Uttarakhand, according to officials.
The discovery of the fake currency prompted PNB to suspend three bank officials under suspicion. The three officials, Ravi Kumar Kansay, Sushil Kumar Sharma, and Amit Kumar, have been booked on complaints from PNB Meerut chief manager Arun Kumar Chaubey, along with part-time housekeeper Vishal Kumar. The police allege that the irregularity was initially detected after a shortage of currency sent from the PNB branch in Saharanpur to the RBI chest in Jaipur, leading to a probe.
During an audit initiated on August 9, officials discovered 148 bundles of counterfeit currency, each containing 1,000 ₹500 notes. The initial value of the fake notes was estimated at ₹7.40 crore, but the amount increased to around ₹17 crore as the audit continued. CCTV footage shows the housekeeper removing notes from currency bundles during his work.
The police are conducting a criminal investigation under sections 178 (counterfeiting currency), 316 (criminal breach of trust), and 318 (cheating).
Written by urgent.news from Hindustan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
