Surat spiritual guru among seven held in Rs 2.38 crore fake currency racket in Ahmedabad
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Ahmedabad (PTI): City police has seized high-quality counterfeit Indian currency with a face value of Rs 2.38 crore and apprehended seven persons, officials said on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off, the crime branch apprehended the accused, including a Surat-based spiritual and yoga teacher, when they arrived here on Wednesday, and seized 42,000 fake notes Rs 500 denomination.
Mukesh Thummar, Ashok Mavani, Ramesh Bhalar, Divyesh Rana, Pradip Jotangiya, Bharat Kakadiya and a woman allegedly brought the high-quality Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) in an SUV which was intercepted near Amraiwadi area, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajit Rajian.
Pradip Jotangiya is a 'spiritual and yoga teacher' at Shree Satyam Yog Foundation in Surat. The SUV had a "VVVIP" sticker and a plate reading "Shri Satyam Yog Foundation Recognized by Ayush Mantralay, Govt. of India".
Currency bundles were recovered from a black bag and concealed packaging inside the vehicle, the official said, adding that the process to arrest the accused was underway.
A crime branch team was immediately sent to Surat, and in coordination with the Surat crime branch, another Rs 28 lakh in fake currency was seized from a house where notes were being printed. Some equipment was also seized, DCP Rajian added.
Mukesh Thummar was allegedly the kingpin of the racket and arranged equipment and raw material including printers and paper cutting machines, as per an official release. Counterfeit currency was being printed at the place for the last four months, it added.
The accused had procured security thread paper resembling RBI markings from Chinese sources through e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba, it said.
Probe also revealed that photo-editing software and AI-based platforms such as ChatGPT were used to refine the design, layout, and visual features of counterfeit notes. One of the accused had expertise in graphic editing and printing processes.
The accused initially tested the counterfeit notes by using them in a few transactions. After gaining confidence that the fake currency was not being detected, they engaged agents to produce additional notes, Rajian said.
The accused will be produced before a court later on Thursday and police will seek their custody, he said.
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Madhu Kishwar booked over misleading content on social media
Chandigarh (PTI): Madhu Kishwar has been booked following a complaint by a Chandigarh resident over the alleged circulation of forged and misleading content on social media.
An FIR has been lodged against Kishwar and some other social media users under relevant sections, including 196 (criminalises acts that promote enmity, hatred, or ill-will between groups based on religion, race, language), 336 (1) (forgery) and 356 (criminal defamation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act at Police Station Sector-26 here.
According to an official statement issued by the Chandigarh police on Monday, a city-based complainant on April 19 alleged that some forged and misleading social media posts and video clips with obscene text and content were being circulated by various social media users, misidentifying the person in the video.
Further investigation into the matter is underway.
As per the complainant, it is a deliberate act of creating a false electronic record using obscene words and phrases, having knowledge and sufficient reason to believe that the posts are misleading and false, with the intent to cause damage or injury.
The video, which circulated with the intent to cause harm to the reputation of a constitutional authority and to disturb public peace and tranquility, should be investigated, and appropriate action should be taken, according to the complainant.
As per the complainant, the person seen in the video is a travel vlogger whose wife regularly posts updates about their activities on social media. The original video was shared from her social media account.
"As per the statement of the woman, she disclosed that the person in the video shared from her account is her husband. Statements of her husband and another lady in the video have also been recorded during preliminary investigation," said police in the statement.
Meanwhile, Kishwar, in a social media post, said a team of Chandigarh police had visited her late Monday night to serve her notice regarding the FIR registered against her.
"Since the law forbids the police to visit or arrest women after dark and before sunrise, I spoke on phone to the leader of the delegation. She told me that their team has come to serve notice regarding an FIR registered against me in Chandigarh. I insisted that they go by the law and come in the morning," she wrote on X.
