Children’s notes as fake notes: Gang of conmen takes public for a ride

You may have seen currency notes issued by the 'Children Bank of India'. They somewhat resemble genuine banknotes, are fun to look at and hold currency in children's play activities.

But that's not their only use case. They have become the weapon of choice for fraudsters of a certain type.

Bengaluru police have arrested a three-member gang of conmen that tried to cheat the general public through notes issued by the 'Children Bank of India'.

One gang member bought the 500-rupee children's notes from a stationery shop on Avenue Road.

The gang made a wad of these notes and placed one genuine Rs 500 bill at the top and one at the bottom. The gang then looked for people willing to buy counterfeit notes and circulate them in the market.

A police team arrested the gang members on Kammanahalli Main Road around 8 pm on Tuesday and seized 20 bundles of children's currency notes.

According to police, the arrest operation was carried out on the basis of a specific tip received by Prakash S, a head constable at the Banaswadi police station.

Prakash and two other policemen found the gang members carrying a bag and loitering near a public toilet.

Upon seeing the plainclothes officers, they tried to flee but were chased down. Police showed them their IDs and detained them for questioning.

The suspects are Natarajan M, of Chennai; Hussainaiah, of Hyderabad; and Obula Reddy, of Electronics City.

According to police, Natarajan has been involved in the circulation of counterfeit notes in the past. He is a farmer and decided to cheat the public with children's notes to overcome his financial problems. Hussaianaiah and Reddy are his friends who helped him find buyers in Banaswadi. Natarajan looked for buyers who could circulate these notes in the market.