Kanpur: With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections approaching, Kanpur Police have busted an alleged counterfeit currency racket and arrested three men in connection with the circulation and printing of fake notes.

Police said the accused were allegedly printing fake ₹500 and ₹200 notes and selling them at a fraction of their face value. During the operation, counterfeit currency with a face value of more than ₹2 lakh, along with a printer and other equipment allegedly used for printing the notes, was recovered.

The arrests were made by a police team led by ADCP Crime Sumit Sudhakar Ramteke after officers received information about the suspected racket. The three accused have been identified as Somil Gupta, Roshan Ali and Sher Singh.

According to police, the three had previously been involved in thefts on trains passing through Kanpur. They allegedly used night shelters near railway stations as temporary places to stay after committing thefts.

Their alleged shift to counterfeit currency came after they met a person described by police as the mastermind of the racket at a night shelter a few months ago. Investigators suspect that the person introduced them to the techniques involved in printing and circulating fake currency.

Police said the trio subsequently bought an Epson printer and began procuring special paper for printing counterfeit notes. They allegedly moved from one city to another after circulating fake currency, using night shelters near railway stations as temporary bases.

The accused were allegedly preparing to establish a similar operation in Kanpur when police received information about their activities and moved in.

A substantial quantity of counterfeit currency was recovered during the operation. Police said the seized material included 1,991 fake ₹100 notes, 71 ₹50 notes of different series and four ₹500 notes. The total face value of the counterfeit currency was stated to be ₹2,04,650.

Apart from the notes, officers recovered a printer, scissors, two paper cutters, two scales, ink bottles, special paper, clothes, a trolley bag and other equipment.

Joint Commissioner of Police Sankalp Sharma said the accused allegedly supplied counterfeit currency to members of their network at a margin of around 30 per cent. Investigators are also examining whether ordinary people were deliberately targeted to circulate the fake notes.

During questioning, the accused allegedly told investigators that they avoided giving counterfeit currency to the same customer twice. They would reportedly change their location after supplying notes to a person in an attempt to evade police detection.

The investigation has now widened to determine how long the alleged racket had been operating, how much counterfeit currency had already been printed and where it was circulated.

Police are also examining a possible link with the counterfeit currency case reported in Saharanpur. Sharma said it could not yet be ruled out that the Kanpur network had some connection with the fake currency recovered from a bank’s currency chest in Saharanpur.

The Saharanpur case is being investigated separately, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) having registered a case in Lucknow and a bank official having been arrested in connection with the matter, according to the information provided by police.

Investigators are now working to establish the wider supply chain and identify other people allegedly involved in the network. Further details are expected after the ongoing interrogation of the arrested accused.