Security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district have made a significant breakthrough in their anti-Naxal operation by recovering a large cache of fake currency notes and equipment used to print them, said a senior police official. Naxalites, also known as Maoists, have been using the fake currency notes in weekly markets of interior areas of the Bastar region to dupe innocent tribals, destabilizing the region’s economy. According to police, the fake currency notes have been in circulation in the region for a long time, but this is the first time they have been recovered from the Naxalites.
The recovery was made on Saturday evening when a joint team of security personnel from various forces launched a search operation based on inputs that the Konta area committee of Naxalites was engaged in printing fake notes in Mailasur, Korajguda, and Danteshpuram areas of Sukma. The operation involved personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force’s 50th battalion, District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters, and district force. When Naxalites sensed the presence of security personnel near Korajguda, they escaped into a dense forest, leaving behind their belongings.
During the search of the site, security personnel recovered a cache of fake currency notes in denominations of Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 200, and Rs 500. They also found equipment used to print the fake notes, including a coloured printing machine, a black and white printer, an inverter machine, 200 bottles of ink, four cartridges of printer machine, nine printer rollers, six wireless sets, its charger, and batteries. The recovery of the fake currency and printing equipment is a crucial success in the anti-Naxal operation, said Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran G Chavan. The police are still trying to determine the exact face value of the fake currency recovered.