District police have uncovered an inter-state fraud network that duped people by promising to print or multiply currency using black paper, and have arrested seven accused, including two police personnel from Maharashtra, said Superintendent of Police K. Ramarajan.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, the SP said the accused lured victims by claiming they could provide note-printing machines and black paper that would yield four times the amount paid. They allegedly demonstrated the process by coating plain paper with chemicals to make it appear like genuine currency.
The accused have been identified as Parashuram Bhimashi Badakari, Imran Babajan Junedi, Jayashree Babu Kamble, Manisha Raju Gaikwad, Ujwala Tulsiram Bilane, and Maharashtra police personnel Anant Prakash Narwade and Dildar Rabbani Sheikh. Mehbooba Desai, also from Gokak, is absconding, while the remaining seven have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody.
Police from Gokak City Police Station conducted a raid at a house in Srinagar area of Gokak taluk and apprehended the accused. During the operation, they seized heating machines, bundles of note-sized blank sheets, chemical bottles, four genuine currency notes, eight mobile phones, and ₹2,520 in cash.
A case has been registered at Gokak Nagar Police Station, and further investigation is underway.
