Mumbai Crime: Man held with 50 fake notes worth Rs 1 lakh

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With the arrival of the king of fruits, the season of aam crimes - those related to mangoes - is also upon us. The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a person with fake currency worth Rs 1 lakh near Masjid railway station on Monday.

He had allegedly brought it to give his associates who use fake currency in the mango season. The police suspect that he is part of a larger gang. The arrested accused was identified as Shafiqul Sheikh, 25.

An officer said a team of ASI Praful Patil, API Santosh Kadam and others picked up Sheikh on Monday evening from Narsi Natha Street, Katha Bazar, Masjid Bunder, after receiving information about him. Sheikh is a labourer, who works at the fruit market at Sanpada in the mango season, and had come to deliver 50 fake Indian currency notes of Rs 2,000.

During interrogation the accused revealed that he had got instructions from his cousin Rintu Sheikh, to give the currency to his associates at Masjid Bunder. He further disclosed that one Kamal Shaikh of Malda, West Bengal, had handed over the notes to him at Malda. Police are looking for his associates to whom he was to deliver the currency.

A police officer said, "During the season many people come to buy mangoes from the APMC market. The business is done in cash and huge amounts of money are transferred and people also use fake currency."

Police have booked the accused under Sections 489 (B) (using as genuine, forged or counterfeit currency notes), (C) (possession of forged or counterfeit currency notes), 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code.

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