In a major catch, Madurai City Police arrested four persons on charges of possessing and circulating fake currency here on Thursday.
A senior police officer said that they received specific input from a Tasmac outlet that a person had approached them and, after purchasing liquor, presented a ₹500 note, which was subsequently found to be fake. After the Tasmac employees identified the suspect, the police formed a special team and, based on the images, secured a person identified as Karthik, 30, of Subramaniapuram.
Based on his confession, the police realised that a big gang appeared to be behind the crime. The gang members gave the fake notes in thickly crowded shops, especially in Tasmac outlets, where the infrastructural facilities were generally not updated with technology.
According to Karthik’s confession to the police, he came in contact with Premkumar, 55, of Jaihindpuram, Nellai Mathiazhagan, 38, and Maheshwaran, 35, in the Madurai Central Prison. They were remanded in judicial custody for different crimes.
During their remand period, Karthik and others got in touch with another four people from Sivakasi, who were in the prison.
After they all came out on bail, the gang had received the fake currencies from their Sivakasi counterparts and circulated them in Tasmac outlets which were thickly crowded, it is said.
When the Tasmac employees went to the bank to deposit the receipts, they were informed about the fake currencies. Hence, after alerting the police, the Tasmac staff members searched for the accused and shared some of the images captured by the CCTV cameras.
The special team, which zeroed in on Karthik, picked up his accomplices.
The police said that they conducted a search in Karthik’s dwelling and seized at least four bundles of fake currency in ₹500 denomination. The police said that they were in the process of arresting three to four more persons in connection with the crime, who were in different locations in the southern districts. “Once they were held, the modus operandi and networking would come to light,” the police added.
Meanwhile, the police have appealed to shopkeepers receiving cash from their customers to install scanners, which could reveal the genuineness of the currency instantly. “In these days, when the government encourages GPay and other forms of cashless transactions, the shopkeepers should cooperate as it would discourage criminals and prevent crimes,” another officer said.
Published – October 08, 2026 09:03 pm IST
