Meerut, Sept. 1 -- A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted by the police to investigate the alleged circulation and storage of counterfeit currency worth around Rs.17 crore at Punjab National Bank's (PNB) currency chest in Saharanpur, with police widening the probe to Haryana, Uttarakhand and neighbouring districts.

The initial value of the fake notes was calculated at Rs.7.40 crore, but as the audit and verification of currency continued, the amount of counterfeit currency detected increased to around Rs.17 crore.

The SIT, according to a senior police official, is going to piece together the sequence of events, identify the source of the counterfeit currency and determine whether the alleged replacement of genuine notes...