Kolkata, 29 October (H.S.) : The Kolkata Police have busted an organized gang attempting a Rs 20 lakh fraud using an ingenious modus operandi: bundles containing real 500-rupee notes only on the top and bottom, with meticulously cut blank white papers stuffed in the middle. The bundles were sealed with fake labels from a reputed private bank to appear authentic. Acting on a tip-off, police arrested two youths red-handed from the Burrabazar area. Based on their interrogation, two other members of the gang were subsequently apprehended from Howrah.

According to police sources, on October 27, the Burrabazar Police Station received information that two suspicious individuals were roaming near the intersection of Strand Road and Mirbahar Ghat Street carrying bundles of what appeared to be counterfeit currency. Acting swiftly on the intel, police launched an operation and detained two youths identified as Vijaypal Tanwar alias Arvind (23) and Shiva Thapa (24). A search of Vijaypal's backpack led to the recovery of four bundles of currency notes.

Each bundle bore a forged label of a well-known private bank, falsely indicating a value of 'Rs 5 lakh.' Cumulatively, the four bundles were presented as amounting to Rs 20 lakh.

However, the true nature of the scam was revealed when police opened the bundles. Officers found that only the uppermost and lowermost notes in each bundle were genuine Rs 500 currency notes. Sandwiched between them were 998 pieces of blank white paper cut exactly to the size of the currency notes.

In reality, across all four bundles, the police recovered only a total genuine amount of Rs 4,000 (eight real Rs 500 notes). Following due legal process, the police confiscated and sealed the bundles while video recording the entire procedure, and handed over a copy of the seizure list to the accused. Both youths were subsequently arrested, and their families were informed.

Following this incident, a case (No. 171/2026) was registered at the Burrabazar Police Station on October 27. The police initiated an investigation under Sections 318(4), 336(3), 340(2), 112, 61(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), charging the accused with fraud, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.

During intense interrogation, the arrested youths revealed leads pointing to two other masterminds of the gang. Based on their statements, a raid was conducted in Howrah on Wednesday night, leading to the arrest of Sunil Kumar Verma (47) and Gopal Gurjar (24). From their possession, the police recovered several pieces of equipment used to manufacture the fake bundles, including a printer, a paper-ream cutter, and two boxes of white bond paper.

Investigators are currently probing the extent of the gang's network to ascertain if this fraudulent syndicate has spread its tentacles to other areas.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh