The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a former Punjab National Bank (PNB) manager from Chandigarh in connection with the recovery of fake currency notes worth ₹ 17 crore from the bank’s currency chest in Saharanpur.
The case relates to the discovery of fake currency in the currency chest of PNB’s branch in Saharanpur. Following the initial recovery, teams from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and PNB headquarters began auditing and counting the currency stored in the chest. The case was registered on September 3. The irregularity first came to light when fake notes worth ₹ 29 lakh were detected in the chest. The first round of counting of ₹ 500 note bundles revealed fake currency worth ₹ 7 crore.
Kumar’s call records showed repeated calls to his brother-in-law, according to the investigation. The arrest of the accused Amit Kumar, was made by a Lucknow based team from his brother-in-law’s house in Chandigarh on Monday night.
The consignment contained a large number of damaged and torn notes. The investigation found that some currency bundles had genuine notes placed on top, while the notes inside the bundles were allegedly fake. Those suspended included Ravi Kumar Kanse of the PNB senior divisional manager’s office, Sushil Kumar, manager of the Saharanpur currency chest, and Amit Kumar, who was then managing the Yamunanagar-Jagadhri currency chest. He allegedly went absconding after the case was registered. Investigators began tracking Kumar and conducting searches at multiple locations in Haryana before tracing his last known location to Chandigarh. However, the court granted two days transit remand.
Within the next 24 hours, the value of the suspected fake currency rose to around ₹ 17 crore. Investigators also examined currency worth ₹ 1 crore that had been sent from the chest to the RBI’s Jaipur office on August 5. After counting, a shortage of around ₹ 4 lakh was detected, according to the details. The NIA subsequently took over the probe and registered the case at its Lucknow branch on September 3.
Three PNB officials suspended A departmental inquiry by PNB headquarters had earlier led to the suspension of three bank officials in connection with the case. Kumar had earlier been posted in Saharanpur and was responsible for the currency chest there. He was produced before the special NIA court in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Kumar is scheduled to be produced before the NIA court in Lucknow on Thursday.
