Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked for 50 days from the public as he promised that their woes would come to an end. Many of the top government officials had claimed that the FICN smugglers would be paralysed for years after the move.
But Krishan, a XII pass out, with a course in Desktop Publishing, took only one month to replicate the new notes to perfection. He did not have the massive printing press infrastructure like the Reserve Bank of India, yet he along with his associate managed to print more than Rs six lakh in FICN, and would come out with several batches of the new notes in four hours.
Furthermore, Krishan had to only make two to three samples of the newly introduced notes after which he managed to replicate the notes to perfection. But this was not the first time he was printing fake currency notes.
Around two years back, he printed fake Rs 100 notes with his associate Ashish. The duo had managed to make a quick profit but then a dispute took place between them after which they ended their partnership.
“Krishan had later on worked in Bharti computer shop with his uncle and became an expert. He also taught in a private school and switched several jobs after which he opened an incense sticks shop in Haryana,” said a senior police official.
However, after demonetisation, his business tanked. Krishan was left without any money, until he thought of making his own money.
He managed to get back in touch with Ashish, they settled their disputes and the printing press started churning away newly introduced notes with factory-like precision.
“They used to get the finest paper they could and all of it was sourced from the local markets in Mayapuri. The ink mixture, design, colour combinations were all decided by Ashish. They also used two-three serial numbers in those notes. One other person also knew about the entire operation, who never told anyone about it,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-west), Surender Kumar.
Ashish and Krishan had sent out the first batch to their debtors and managed to clear out their debts. Later, they went around local markets and exchanged the money with the vendors ignorant of the FICN.
“They were extremely careful and would also make note of the time they gave the notes. They were highly ambitious but they could not replicate the green thread in the original notes and were caught,” Kumar added.