Rs 1 lakh real for Rs 3 lakh fake: UP Police bust fake currency racket, 3 arrested

UP STF and Sonwa Police arrested three men during a raid on a counterfeit currency unit in Shravasti. The accused allegedly planned to circulate the fake notes during Diwali and exchange them for genuine currency.Three men arrested in Shravasti for allegedly printing counterfeit currency worth Rs 1.74 lakh.Shravasti,Nov 7, 2026 04:21 ISTA joint team of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and Sonwa Police has busted an illegal currency printing operation in Shravasti district, arresting three men and seizing 804 counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs 1.74 lakh.The accused were allegedly preparing to flood the market with fake currency during Diwali, with plans to exchange Rs 3 lakh in counterfeit notes for every Rs 1 lakh in genuine currency. They had also been looking for customers to take part in the illegal exchange, police said.The operation was being run from Giriraj Rice Mill in Bhitiya Chichri village along Malhipur Road. Acting on a tip-off on November 5, the joint team raided the premises and caught the three accused allegedly printing counterfeit currency.Those arrested have been identified as Girija Shankar Jaiswal and Narendra Kumar Chaurasia, both residents of Bahraich, and Vrijendra Goswami, a resident of Ikauna in Shravasti. Police recovered 804 fake Indian currency notes in denominations of Rs 100, Rs 200 and Rs 500, collectively worth Rs 1.74 lakh. The seizure also included a Canon colour printer, four filled ink refills, 156 A4 sheets carrying printed counterfeit notes, cutting equipment, three mobile phones, identity documents and Rs 5,500 in cash.YOUTUBE VIDEOS, MUMBAI USED TO LEARN COUNTERFEITINGDuring questioning, the accused allegedly told investigators that Goswami had learnt the technique of printing fake currency in Mumbai and had also gathered information by watching YouTube videos. According to police, Goswami was responsible for printing the notes, while the other two accused handled cutting them, arranging them into bundles and packaging them for circulation.The trio had planned to push the counterfeit currency into the market during the Diwali festivities. They intended to use the fake notes to purchase goods and jewellery from shopkeepers and circulate them among people involved in gambling, police said.The accused were also searching for customers willing to exchange Rs 1 lakh in genuine currency for Rs 3 lakh in counterfeit notes. The profits from the operation were to be divided equally among the three, investigators said.The police said the raid was conducted following specific intelligence inputs and that the arrests and recovery were videographed.A case has been registered against the three accused at Sonwa police station, and they are being sent to court for further legal proceedings.Police said no previous criminal record had been found against Jaiswal and Chaurasia. Goswami, however, has a case registered against him at Ikauna police station dating back to 2020.- EndsWith inputs from Pankaj Verma