Saharanpur: The discovery of fake currency notes with a face value of nearly Rs 17 crore in the currency chest of Punjab National Bank in Saharanpur has raised serious questions over the security and functioning of the bank's cash handling system. The preliminary investigation has indicated the possibility that counterfeit notes were deposited in the currency chest and genuine currency was withdrawn in exchange.
The bank management has suspended three officials after their alleged involvement surfaced during the initial probe. A part-time housekeeper who was assigned the job of arranging bundles of currency notes in the chest has also been removed.
Officials suspended in probe
The three suspended officials have been identified as Ravi Kumar Kansa, senior manager at the divisional office, Sushil Sharma, manager of the currency chest, and Amit Kumar, manager of the PNB currency chest at Khera Bazar in Yamunanagar. PNB nodal officer Arun Kumar Chaubey had lodged an FIR against the three at Kotwali Sadar Bazar police station. They were suspended after the bank's internal inquiry indicated their involvement.
Police have constituted a Special Investigation Team to investigate the case, while a team from the PNB headquarters is also examining the records and cash transactions. On Monday, DIG Abhishek Singh, District Magistrate Arvind Kumar Chauhan and SSP Abhinandan Singh visited the PNB currency chest at Sophia Market and examined the records.
Counterfeit currency recovery rises
The scale of the suspected fraud increased as the investigation progressed. Initially, 148 bundles of counterfeit notes were recovered from the currency chest. Each bundle contained 1,000 notes of Rs 500 denomination, putting the value of the fake currency at Rs 7.40 crore. Further examination of the cash and records has taken the estimated value of the counterfeit currency to nearly Rs 17 crore.
CCTV footage from the currency chest reportedly shows housekeeper Vishal Kumar taking notes out of currency bundles. He was responsible for arranging the bundles inside the currency chest. Investigators are now trying to establish how such a large quantity of counterfeit currency entered a secured bank facility and how the genuine notes were subsequently taken out.
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Investigation widens
Police are also examining whether the suspected operation involved people outside the currency chest and whether other bank officials or branch managers had any role. Investigators believe that more names could emerge as they examine the movement of cash, records and CCTV footage.
The case has also attracted the attention of intelligence agencies because of the huge volume of counterfeit currency allegedly found inside a bank currency chest. DIG Abhishek Singh said a team had been constituted to investigate the matter and indicated that more people could be named if their involvement emerged during the probe.
