New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested Adesh Choudhary, a contractual driver attached to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) currency chest in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, in connection with a massive counterfeit currency conspiracy.
Choudhary, a resident of Gangoh Road in New Nandpuri Colony under Qutub Sher Police Station in Manak Mau of Saharanpur, is among the key accused in the case involving fake notes with a face value of Rs 17.29 crore recovered from the bank’s Civil Lines currency chest, a press statement issued here said.
The scam came to light on August 29, 2026, when Sadar Bazar police station in Saharanpur received credible information about the presence of counterfeit Indian currency notes inside the PNB currency chest.
Preliminary inquiry revealed the involvement of three bank employees, who were subsequently suspended by the bank management, it said.
An FIR was registered the same day at Sadar Bazar Police Station under Section 178 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, against the three accused.
The NIA took over the probe and re-registered the case on September 3, 2026.
Earlier, on September 7, the NIA had arrested another FIR named accused Amit Kumar.
With Choudhary’s arrest, the agency has now taken into custody two key individuals linked to the conspiracy, the press statement said.
However, officials said Choudhary, who worked as a contractual driver at the currency chest, is suspected to have played an important role in the larger racket involving the circulation of high-value fake currency notes.
The recovery of notes worth more than Rs 17 crore has raised serious concerns about the security protocols at the bank’s currency handling facility.
NIA teams are continuing intensive investigations to unravel the full extent of the conspiracy, identify the source of the counterfeit notes, and arrest the remaining co-accused and suspects.
The agency is examining the roles of the suspended bank employees and other associates who may have facilitated the operation.
(IANS)
