Gang held with fake currency

TIRUCHY/ERODE: A three-member gang from Bihar was arrested in Samayapuram here with fake currency with a face value of over Rs 5 lakh.There had been several complaints by traders in Samayapuram that a gang was making use of the huge rush of pilgrims in the temple town and circulating fake currency in the shops. The traders usually do not check notes because of lack of time. The police asked the traders to alert them if they found anything suspicious.On Saturday night, a youth bought a vessel worth `40 from a shop and gave `500 note. The shop owner suspected the note to be fake and alerted the police.The youth was interrogated and he said that he had come from Bihar with two other men. The three culprits — Mohamed Javid (30), Mohamed Bashar (27) and Mohamed Iftiyas — were arrested. They said they had taken a room in a lodge and were circulating fake notes at the shops.Police, on examining their room, found fake notes worth `5.12 lakh. They are still investigating the source of the fake notes and the connections the youth have.Meanwhile in Erode, a dismissed policeman was arrested along with two others on charges of circulating fake notes. Coimbatore CB-CID inspector Krishnasamy, following a tip off from the public, arrested Nagoor Kani (40), who was dismissed from the police constable’s post in 2008, while working in Thirumangalam police station, his relative Md Hanifa (34), both from Dindigul, and their friend Ponnusamy (30) of Karur.The trio had allegedly come to Patel Road, near the GH, to exchange fake notes. But before they could get on with business, the police arrested them and seized a Tata Sumo and the fake notes that they had. They were produced before magistrate court who remanded to them to 15 days custody.