Fake currency racket: Cash was no problem for 21-yr-old ‘mastermind’

Abhinav’s product was also used in the USA apart from India, and he was selling it at a handsome price of around $300 per unit. The accused had also won multiple awards for his innovation. He was planning to sell it in some European countries to expand his business.

Sources said that Abhinav received around Rs 1.25 crore from independent venture capitalists for developing his product on a large scale under a start-up programme. He also had some orders for his product which could give him high returns, said one of the police officials investigating the case.

“He had a bright future as he was earning plenty of money and had also became popular in a short time with his product, but his greed and misguidance by some of his friends dragged him into the criminal world,” added the official.

The sources said that Abhinav was introduced to Suman Nagpal by his cousin Vishakha – both of whom were arrested with him — as Nagpal had worked with Vishakha in the past. Later, Suman was the person who arranged clients for Abhinav and Vishaka.

Sources said that the notes printed by Abhinav were of high quality and looked even better than the original currency notes. He wanted to print the notes for only a few months, as he wanted to take advantage of the problems being faced by the people due to demonetisation and he did not want to do it after the normalisation of the new notes.

“H e told us that he did not want to print the notes after normalcy as he had a calculation that he could earn a handsome amount of money in two or three months, while the people are facing problems. But as he was doing it, so it does not minimise his crime. Whether you print one fake note or a thousand notes, crime is crime,” said an official who interrogated Abhinav.

Three victims of the accused, identified as Gurmel Singh and Harnek Singh — both brothers and residents of Mullanpur Garibdas — and Sohanpreet Singh approached the police and lodged a complaint.