Cuttack: At a time when the recent instances of police busting adulterated milk and ghee units have earned a bad name for the Silver City, counterfeit currency note mafia targeting the festive season to earn fast bucks has come as a double whammy.
According to sources, Durga puja is celebrated here with great pomp and gaiety every year when business houses make huge transactions – worth hundreds of crores. Taking advantage of the festive rush and an apparent scope for circulation of fake notes, the mafia elements are planning to launch counterfeit notes worth cores in the puja market. As per reports, the fake note rackets are targeting small and makeshift shops here if a recent case of seizure of counterfeit notes from an eatery in Jagatpur area here is any indication.
Sources said a few fake note brokers, in the guise of builders, had visited the restaurant and were trying to convince people to accept and circulate the counterfeit notes. One such plot was foiled by Jagatpur police recently. Sources said a person, who identified himself as a real estate dealer, had taken `1.60 lakh from a resident of Jagatpur on the pretext of buying him a piece of land. When the dealer could not arrange the landed plot, the Jagatpur resident wanted his money back. However, instead of repaying the money, the conman was instigating people of Jagatpur area to help him circulate fake currency notes, saying that this would earn them quick bucks. On being informed, the police detained the broker and are interrogating him to get further leads in this connection.