Saharanpur, Sept. 1 -- The recovery of counterfeit currency, having a face value of nearly Rs 17 crore, from the Punjab National Bank (PNB) currency chest in Saharanpur has raised questions over the bank's cash-handling and security systems.
Preliminary investigation suggests fake notes may have been deposited in the secured currency chest, allegedly allowing genuine currency to be withdrawn in exchange.
PNB has suspended three officials following an internal inquiry. They are Ravi Kumar Kansa, senior manager at the divisional office; Sushil Sharma, manager of the currency chest; and Amit Kumar, manager of the PNB chest at Khera Bazar in Yamunanagar. PNB nodal officer Arun Kumar Chaubey lodged an FIR against them at Kotwali Sadar Bazar police station.
A part-time housekeeper, Vishal Kumar, who was assigned to arrange currency bundles, has also been removed. CCTV footage reportedly shows him handling notes from the bundles.
Initially, 148 bundles containing 1,000 fake Rs 500 notes each, valued at Rs 7.40 crore, were recovered. Further scrutiny of cash and records subsequently raised the estimated value of counterfeit currency to nearly Rs 17 crore.
Police have formed a Special Investigation Team, while a PNB headquarters team is examining records and transactions. DIG Abhishek Singh, District Magistrate Arvind Kumar Chauhan and SSP Abhinandan Singh inspected the currency chest at Sophia Market on Monday.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.