Fake Rs 20 coins worth Rs 70 crore circulated in market, gang busted in UP
The Saharanpur Police have apprehended five individuals linked to a counterfeit coin syndicate that manufactured and distributed fake Rs 20 coins worth over Rs 70 crore across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Bihar. The suspects were apprehended in Titawa, Saharanpur, while allegedly transporting machinery to establish a new production unit in the district.
Saharanpur SSP Abhinandan stated that the gang purportedly possessed the capability to produce 10,000 to 12,000 counterfeit coins daily using the machinery. These coins were then circulated through various outlets such as liquor shops, toll plazas, and grocery stores, with liquor shops being the primary market for the syndicate.
The five arrested members include the alleged leader, Upkar Luthra (alias Abhay Pratap Singh), a former goldsmith from Mohali who has been involved in the counterfeit coin trade since 2001, and four others identified as Himanshu (alias Gullu), Kuldeep, Anurag Pal (alias Lankesh), and Santosh Chaurasia (alias Janardan). All members are between 30 and 40 years old.
Upkar met Himanshu in Tihar Jail, and their subsequent meeting is believed to have initiated the formation of the network. Other members reportedly joined the syndicate after meeting Luthra and Himanshu in various jails, according to police.
Police recovered 6,400 counterfeit Rs 20 coins, with a face value of Rs 1.28 lakh, and an estimated worth of Rs 5 lakh in semi-finished coins. They also seized six coin-making machines. The investigation is underway to ascertain the source of the machinery and the gang's supply network. Police have recovered additional items, including five iron dies, 39 unmarked dies, 20 marked dies, a die-polishing machine, two grinding stones, five hammers, an iron-cutting saw, an electronic weighing scale, eight mobile phones, seven account registers, and other documents during the operation.
The probe is focused on understanding how long the syndicate had been active and the number of counterfeit coins they had circulated.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
