Bangalore Police have arrested a driver and conductor employed by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation over their involvement with a counterfeit currency racket. The accused have been identified as Somanagowda and Nanjegowda, both of whom were posted at the Jayanagar bus depot.
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According to the sources, Bengaluru police recovered fake note amounting to Rs 81.30 lakh in currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 from the accused. It has also come to light that a photographer from Chennarayapattana has been arrested; however, the racket's kingpin continues to be at large. Officers said that the bus conductor met Ramakrishna, the kingpin of the racket, about a year ago through a mutual friend.
Ramakrishna claimed to double people's money and took Rs 1 lakh, all of Somanagowda's savings, which he doubled within a month and returned. With this move, Ramakrishna gained his trust. Somanagowda decided to sell his ancestral land and handed over the proceeds, Rs 7.5 lakh. However, the absconding kingpin never returned the amount.
When a devastated the bus conductor said that he would end his life, Ramakrishna asked the conductor to join his counterfeit currency racket. His invitation appealed to him who roped in his friend and colleague Nanjegowda. The three, along with photographer Kiran, even rented a home in Garvebavipalya for taking printouts of currency notes. Police officials familiar with the matter said that the group was planning to exchange fake notes amounting to Rs 81.30 lakh for Rs 25 lakh in real currency. City police arrested the group on a tip-off received about their ploy to exchange counterfeit notes with real ones.
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