Delhi Police bust fake currency racket, seize Rs 10.5 lakh in forged Rs 500 notes

Delhi Police has arrested four men after uncovering a counterfeit Rs 500 operation linked to Delhi, Sonipat and Churu. The recovery of printing equipment and high-security paper suggests an organised network under investigation.Delhi Police bust fake Rs 500 racket, seize notes worth Rs 10.5 lakh. (Representative image)New Delhi,Oct 7, 2026 20:27 ISTDelhi Police has busted a counterfeit currency racket and recovered suspected fake Rs 500 notes with a face value of about Rs 10.50 lakh, officials said on Wednesday. Four people have been arrested for allegedly procuring material, preparing the notes and circulating them.The case began on September 30 after police received a tip-off about the movement and supply of counterfeit currency in the Prashant Vihar area. A raid near Japanese Park led to the arrest of Pushkar Raj Purbia, also known as "Doctor", Gosai Ram and Sahil Kharb. During further investigation, sustained questioning and electronic surveillance led police to Narendra Kumar, who was later apprehended in Churu, Rajasthan.Police said suspected counterfeit Rs 500 notes and equipment used to print them were recovered from the three men held in Delhi, following which an FIR was registered. Searches at premises linked to the accused later led to the recovery of more printing equipment, digital devices, printing material and other articles suspected to have been used to prepare counterfeit currency notes.In all, police recovered 21 bundles of suspected counterfeit Rs 500 notes with a total face value of around Rs 10.50 lakh. The seized material includes two colour printers, a paper-cutting machine, two HP laptops, a note-counting machine, screen-printing material, a desktop computer with monitor, an LCD monitor and a CPU. Blank papers with ribbons and blank security papers carrying high-security features were also recovered, officials said. According to police, Purbia, a resident of Jaipur, was working as a property dealer and allegedly coordinated with the other accused of the preparation and circulation of the suspected counterfeit currency. Police said he has previously been involved in a cheating case in Rajasthan and four cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.Gosai Ram, a resident of Barmer, was allegedly involved in procuring material for preparing the counterfeit notes and learning the process through online sources and social media, police said. He and Kharb allegedly arranged rented accommodation in Sonipat to prepare the suspected fake currency and helped circulate it to other locations. Kharb, a resident of Sonipat who was working at his family shop, allegedly assisted in procuring material, arranging the premises, and preparing and circulating the suspected counterfeit notes. Police said Narendra Kumar, a resident of Churu, was allegedly in contact with Purbia and Gosai Ram and is suspected to have helped procure material and learn the process of preparing counterfeit currency. He has previously been involved in a case related to hurt or assault in Rajasthan. The investigation into the racket and the recovered suspected fake notes is continuing.- EndsWith PTI inputs