A murder investigation led the Ahmedabad police to uncover a fake currency racket, seize counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs 28.9 lakh and arrest five men, officials said on Saturday.
The police have also apprehended a minor for his alleged involvement in the crime. He has been sent to a remand home, they said.
“The seventh accused, the kingpin of the network, is dead,” said Zone 8 Deputy Commissioner of Police Mayur Patil. Five adults have been taken into custody, he said.
According to police, the fake currency network came to light during the investigation into a murder in the city.
“Police found the body of the kingpin, Imran Sindha, in a flat in the Vatva area on May 27. He was allegedly killed by his associates, who were working with him to produce fake notes,” Patil said.
Sindha apparently subjected his associates to repeated abuse over minor issues. Frustrated by his behaviour, the accused reportedly assaulted him, tied him up inside the flat, and fled with fake currency notes and machines.
However, they didn’t know that Sindha had succumbed to the assault. The murder came to light after neighbours complained of a foul smell emanating from the flat, said the official.
During the inspection of the flat, the police got clues that it was being used to print counterfeit currency notes. Investigators subsequently discovered that Sindha and five others, including a minor, had been directly involved in the note printing activity since March 16, 2026.
Police also learned that Sindha had allegedly printed counterfeit currency notes with a face value of nearly Rs 60 lakh.
Subsequently, they arrested the gang members from different states and recovered fake notes with a face value of Rs 28.94 lakh, a laptop and printers from them, the official said.
Based on technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, police arrested Meraj Rabari, a resident of Banaskantha and the sixth accused, who was involved in distributing the fake notes, Patil said.
A case has been registered against seven persons, including the minor and deceased Sindha, he said.
Further investigation into the case is underway, and police are trying to ascertain how the remaining counterfeit notes were circulated, the official added.
