Meerut, Sept. 3 -- A 21-member joint team of officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) is tracing the cash trail of counterfeit currency worth around Rs.17 crore recovered from a PNB currency chest in Saharanpur, with investigators examining how such a large quantity of fake notes entered the banking system and passed through multiple layers of verification before reaching the chest. The investigation has now moved beyond the recovery of the counterfeit notes, with officials scrutinising the entire journey of the cash, from its receipt at the bank to counting, sorting, verification and eventual deposit in the currency chest. Investigators are examining records to establish when and how much cash was received, its source, where it was moved and the procedure followed before it reached the currency chest. The objective is to identify the stage at which the counterfeit notes escaped the banking system's prescribed checks. The team is also examining the verification and sorting procedures followed when the cash was processed. Investigators are seeking to determine what checks were conducted, at what stage the fake notes were detected and which officials or personnel handled the cash before its deposit in the currency chest. A key part of the probe is determining whether all the counterfeit notes came from a single source or entered the banking channel through different routes. Given the volume of counterfeit currency involved, investigators have not ruled out the possibility of an organised network being behind the circulation of the fake notes. However, the exact source and route of the currency will be established only after the detailed examination of records and other evidence. The joint team is currently attempting to reconstruct the movement of the cash by matching documentary records with the physical handling and processing of the currency. Nisha Singh, PNB chief bank manager, Saharanpur division, said a team had been sent by the bank's headquarters after counterfeit notes were detected in the currency chest and that the investigation was currently underway. She said an FIR had been registered against officials found prima facie responsible and three officials had been suspended. A part-time housekeeper associated with the currency chest had also been removed. Singh said the exact manner in which the fake notes reached the currency chest and the people involved would become clear only after completion of the investigation....