Counterfeit Currency Featuring Actor Anupam Kher Dupes Ahmedabad Bullion Firm

A significant fraud case has emerged in Ahmedabad, where a bullion firm owner was allegedly duped of Rs 1.60 crore using counterfeit currency notes. These fake notes featured the picture of veteran actor Anupam Kher instead of Mahatma Gandhi, raising both eyebrows and questions about the security of currency notes. Ahmedabad City Police reported this unusual incident on Sunday.

Veteran actor Anupam Kher responded to the bizarre occurrence on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), expressing his disbelief. He tweeted, “My photo instead of Gandhi’s photo on the five hundred rupee note???? Anything can happen!” His response mirrored the astonishment felt by many who learned about the unusual nature of the currency fraud.

According to a complaint lodged by Mehul Thakkar, the owner of a bullion firm located in the Manek Chowk area of Ahmedabad, the incident unfolded when he was approached by individuals expressing interest in purchasing 2,100 grams of gold. The supposed buyers arranged for the delivery of the gold to a location they claimed was a courier firm on CG Road, Navrangpura, on September 24.

Thakkar sent his employees to the said location, where the accused handed over a plastic cover, purportedly containing Rs 1.3 crore in cash. They requested the employees to count the money using a provided machine. Meanwhile, the accused left the scene under the guise of retrieving an additional Rs 30 lakh from a nearby store but absconded with the gold. Upon checking, Thakkar’s employees realized the cash was counterfeit, with notes bearing Kher’s image and a misspelling of the ‘Reserve Bank of India‘ as ‘Resole Bank of India’.

Inspector AA Desai of Navrangpura police station informed The Indian Express that the accused set up a fake courier company, rented a shop, and installed a misleading company sign. They managed to deceive the landlord by promising to sign a rental agreement shortly. The police investigation is ongoing, with efforts to apprehend the suspects in full swing, yet no arrests have been reported.

This case underscores persistent issues with counterfeit currency in India, which have been a concern despite the government’s 2016 demonetization efforts aimed at reducing fake notes. The Reserve Bank of India’s Annual Report for the fiscal year 2022 highlighted a spike in detected counterfeit ₹500 notes, marking a rise of 102 percent year-on-year. There was similarly a noticeable increase in counterfeit notes of Rs 200 and Rs 2,000, even as lower denominations such as Rs 50 and Rs 100 saw a reduction.

Despite these challenges, according to a statement by the Minister of State for Finance presented in the Rajya Sabha, the number of fake notes had decreased from 317,384 in FY19 to 222,639 in FY24, reflecting efforts to mitigate the issue.