Over 29,000 fake notes of Rs 2k value seized

Security agencies and police have seized 29,733 fake notes of Rs 2,000 denomination since the new notes were introduced in November following demonetisation.

The figure was arrived at through an analysis of answers to two questions by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Parliament on March 14 (Lok Sabha) and April 5 (Rajya Sabha).

The face value of the seized notes is Rs 5.94 crore.Gujarat leads the pack in seizures of fake Rs 2,000 notes, followed by Delhi. While 26,730 notes were seized in Gujarat, 1,261 fake notes were seized in the capital.

While the March 14 response dealt with figures from across the country, the MHA’s response on Wednesday dealt with seizures from border states. Officials said the number could go up as some states are yet to provide complete details and it is an ongoing process.

The MHA said there have been instances where fake currency was smuggled from neighbouring countries. From 17 border states alone, 27,949 fake notes of Rs 2,000 with a face value of Rs 5.58 crore were seized.

The police in these states also recovered 12,956 fake notes of Rs 500 since demonetisation. However, the states did not report the number of both new and old notes of Rs 500 denomination separately.

Amid concerns over counterfeit notes, the government last week indicated that it plans to change security features of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes every three-four years.

Sources said the new notes had no additional security features and were similar to those of the old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes.