- 28 crore fake currency seized across the country, 76% increase in a year
- More than 56% of fake notes were caught from only two states Gujarat and Delhi
- In 2017, 53% of counterfeit notes seized nationwide were worth two thousand rupees.
Gujarat has become a stronghold of fake notes. In 2017, 32% of the nationwide seized fake currency was captured from Gujarat alone, worth over Rs 9 crore. The capital of the country, Delhi is second in this case. More than 50% of fake currency in the country have been seized from these two states. This disclosure is made for the first time after demonetisation in a report involving fake notes. A few days ago, the police raided a construction temple and caught the note printing gang.
First report on fake notes after demonetisation
In 2016, the NCRB first began to include cases related to counterfeit notes in its report. In November 2016, 500 and 1000 rupee notes were withdrawn from circulation in the country. In the first report after demonetisation, a full year data has been included on the fake currency seized across the country. Accordingly, fake notes worth Rs 28.1 crore were seized in 2017, which is 76% higher than the seized figures in 2016. Fake notes worth Rs 15.9 crore were then seized.
56% counterfeit notes seized from only 2 states
During 2017, over 3.56 lakh counterfeit notes of different denomination were seized from across the country. Their total value is more than 28 crores rupees. The surprising thing is that more than 56% of the counterfeit notes seized across the country have been seized from only two states – Gujarat and Delhi.
State value of counterfeit notes (in rupees)
Gujarat 80,519 Crore
Delhi 1.08 Lakh 6.79 Crore
Uttar Pradesh 28,318 2.86 Crore
West Bengal 14,770 1.93 Crore
Kerala 18,498 1.30 Crore
Andhra Pradesh 33,047 1.2 Crore
Over 2000% of 2000 notes worth 53% of seized notes
Although the highest number of counterfeit notes (1.02) seized in 2017 was the illegal currency of five hundred rupees, but in terms of total value, the value of two thousand notes was the highest. During the year, 74,878 counterfeit notes of two thousand rupees were seized, valued at about Rs 14.97 crore, which is 53% of the total value of counterfeit notes. The other high value of seized notes was 6.57 crores for one thousand rupee notes.
Note number
2000 74,898
1000 65,731
500 (old) 1.02 Lakh
500 (new) 8,879
100 92,778
50 (old) 3,347
50 (new) 155
The fake currency of 5 rupees has fallen by 43 times. Its 2001 notes were confiscated in 2016, while in 2017, only 46 counterfeit notes worth five rupees were seized.
80% counterfeit notes of one rupee found in Uttarakhand, not a single fake note of two rupees
The most shocking disclosure in the report has been about the one rupee note. A one-rupee note is commonly used as an omen in a puja or some auspicious work, but the fraudsters also showed their “skills” here. However, cases related to one rupee fake notes are just two states- Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been found. 5474 counterfeit notes of one rupee were seized in 2017. Of these, 4,400 i.e. 80% were seized in Uttarakhand, while the remaining 1074 notes were seized in Andhra Pradesh.
Not a single fake note in 10 states including Jharkhand, Chandigarh
There are 10 states and union territories of the country from where the relief of fake currency has been reported. The special thing is that not a single fake note has been seized in any of these. Among them, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura are the major states, while Union Territories have reported cases of counterfeit notes only in Delhi and Puducherry. The special thing is that most of these states have international border, because most of the consignment of fake currency discussed is coming from neighbouring countries to India.
978 FIRs in a year, 1046 accused
Cases of counterfeit notes are registered under Section 489 of the Indian Penal Code i.e. Under this, forgery or making fake documents and encoding have been declared a crime. Under this, a provision of heavy penalty and harsh punishment has been made for the culprits. Conviction of possession, production and use of counterfeit notes can also result in harsh punishment for life imprisonment.
RBI also issues report on fake notes
Reserve Bank of India also makes mention of fake notes in its report. Apart from this, RBI has also issued guidelines to banks and other agencies to identify fake and genuine notes. However, there is a difference in the figures of fake notes of RBI and NCRB, as NCRB releases data for the entire year i.e. from January to December, while the RBI for the financial year i.e. April to March. Another major difference is that the RBI only has the data of fake notes it has identified in itself and banks and not the notes seized by the police or other agencies. In this case, there is a difference in the figures of both.