Bhopal, November 4 (Udaipur Kiran): Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district have busted a major interstate fake currency racket, arresting the alleged mastermind Gurjit Singh alias Gurinderjit Singh, a resident of Patiala, Punjab. The police have seized counterfeit notes worth several lakhs along with printers, computers, shiny foils, cutters, and other printing materials. The gang was supplying fake notes across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab.

Operation began with a tea stall tip-off

The case surfaced on October 27, 2025, when police in the Multanpura outpost area of YD Nagar police station received a tip-off about fake currency being exchanged at a tea stall on Dautkhedi Road. Acting swiftly, police raided the spot and arrested Nisar Hussain Patel, Riyaz Niyargar, and Deepak Garg, recovering ₹38,000 in counterfeit notes.

Initial interrogation revealed that the racket was part of a wider interstate network, prompting police to expand the investigation with help from the cyber cell and technical teams. The trail led investigators to Haryana and later to Punjab, resulting in the complete bust of the network.

Arrests in Haryana and Punjab connection

Following leads, Mandsaur police conducted a raid in Ambala (Haryana) and arrested Sandeep Singh Basaiti and Prince Ahlawat, recovering ₹6,000 in fake currency. The duo revealed that their supplier was based in Punjab. Acting on this clue, the police team reached Sanaur in Patiala district and arrested 36-year-old Gurjit Singh, the alleged mastermind.

At his residence, police found a mini printing setup used to produce counterfeit notes. The raid led to the recovery of ₹3.66 lakh in fake currency, along with computers, color printers, shiny green foils, and cutting tools.

Learned from YouTube tutorials

During questioning, Gurjit confessed that he had learned the entire technique of making counterfeit currency through YouTube videos. He used Photoshop to design scanned images of real notes and printed them using high-quality color printers. To make them appear authentic, he added reflective green foils similar to those on real currency.

Gurjit admitted that he sold the counterfeit notes to peddlers at half the face value, who later circulated them in local markets and fairs across different states. Police estimate that the gang may have pushed fake currency worth several lakhs into circulation.

Six accused arrested so far

So far, six people have been arrested — Riyaz Khan (Pipliamandi, Mandsaur), Nisar Hussain Patel (Botalganj, Mandsaur), Deepak Garg (Bhilwara, Rajasthan), Sandeep Singh Basaiti (Kurukshetra, Haryana), Prince Ahlawat (Kurukshetra, Haryana), and Gurjit Singh alias Gurinderjit Singh (Patiala, Punjab).

The police have seized fake notes worth ₹4 lakh, mobile phones worth ₹3 lakh, a Hyundai Verna car worth ₹10 lakh, and digital equipment worth around ₹1 lakh, bringing the total seizure value to approximately ₹18 lakh.

Previous criminal record and wider network

Police said Gurjit Singh has previous criminal cases registered at Chappar police station in Haryana, while Sandeep Singh and Prince Ahlawat also have records at Chhachhrauli police station in Haryana. Investigators have also uncovered important leads about agents and supply channels operating in other states.

Mandsaur SP said the operation was carried out carefully using cyber and technical surveillance, and efforts are ongoing to identify other members of the network. This bust comes shortly after another major fake currency case in Khandwa district, where police recovered ₹19.78 lakh in counterfeit ₹500 notes from a madrasa in Paithiyan village.