Motihari: Police arrested a fake currency racketeer and seized nearly Rs 20 lakh in cash from an SUV during a vehicle-checking drive near Manikpur village on the Motihari-Areraj road under Areraj police station area in East Champaran district on Friday. The racketeer allegedly supplied four counterfeit Rs 500 notes in exchange for one genuine Rs 500 note, police said.Areraj SDPO Pankaj Kumar Mishra said police had received a tip-off that two SUVs were heading towards Bettiah in connection with a fake currency deal. During checking, one SUV sped away, while the second vehicle was intercepted. Its occupant, Rohit Kumar Shahi, a resident of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested. Police recovered Rs 19.98 lakh in cash from a bag found in the vehicle.During interrogation, Shahi allegedly told police that he and four associates from Gorakhpur had come to meet a Bettiah resident, Ashok Mishra, to purchase counterfeit Indian currency notes.Acting on the information, police raided Mishra’s house in Bettiah, but he allegedly fled before the team arrived. Six live cartridges were recovered during the raid, police said.The SDPO said, “Raids are underway to arrest the absconding suspects. A counterfeit currency network involving operatives from Gorakhpur and Bettiah appeared to be active, and efforts are on to identify and nab all those involved.”
