Sharp-eyed Ahmedabad hawker spots fake note; customer in jail

An eagle-eyed hawker from Karanj area identified a fake Indian currency note (FICN) given by a customer and nabbed him.

Rampal Premlal Chauhan, a native of Punjab, was caught by hawkers of the area when he was trying to make a purchase against a Rs1,000 note on Monday.

Chauhan, 24, a resident of Dharamkantha in Punjab, came to the open market near Bhadra area for shopping. He first approached a hawker selling caps, and gave a Rs1,000 note to buy a cap, but the hawker did not have adequate change. Chauhan turned to another hawker to buy a belt, but this hawker too did not have change.

So, Chauhan purchased a pair of goggles from a third hawker and asked all three hawkers to get the Rs1,000 changed and distribute it amongst them return him the balance amount. The trio agreed and approached one Wajid Ahmed Mansoori, a hawker operating near the Karanj police station, to get change for the Rs1,000 note.

Mansoori noticed there was something wrong with the note, as the watermark did not appear to be the same as seen on other notes. To clear his doubts, he pinched the note and noticed that ink had transferred to his fingers. This confirmed that the note was a fake.

Mansoori and the other hawkers then immediately took Chauhan to the Karanj police. Upon searching him, the cops found three more fake Rs1,000 notes from his pockets. The Karanj police then handed him over to the Special Operations Group (SOG) for further probe.