Gujarat police have arrested a self-styled spiritual guru and four accomplices in a major counterfeit currency operation, seizing Rs 2.9 crore in fake currency notes across raids in Ahmedabad and Surat, authorities announced Wednesday. The bust represents one of the largest counterfeiting operations uncovered in western India in recent years.
The timing carries particular irony. The arrests come as Bollywood releases Dhurandhar 2, a film that portrays Prime Minister Narendra Modi's controversial 2016 demonetization as a masterstroke against counterfeit currency. Yet ten years after that policy withdrew 86% of India's currency from circulation—causing massive economic disruption—investigators continue to uncover large-scale fake note operations.
The accused, identified as a spiritual guru whose influence extended across both cities, allegedly ran a sophisticated printing operation producing high-quality counterfeit notes of multiple denominations. Police sources indicate the group had been operating for several years, distributing fake currency through networks that exploited religious gatherings and spiritual events to avoid detection.
"This operation shows the evolving nature of counterfeit threats," said a senior Gujarat police official who requested anonymity. "The accused used their spiritual credentials to build trust and avoid scrutiny while running a criminal enterprise."
The 2016 demonetization, which Modi announced without warning on November 8, invalidated Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes overnight. The government claimed the move would eliminate black money, counterfeit currency, and terror financing. Critics argued it caused unnecessary economic pain—long queues at banks, cash shortages that hit the informal sector, and GDP growth slowdown—while achieving few of its stated objectives.
Currency experts have long questioned whether demonetization succeeded in curbing counterfeiting. Reserve Bank of India data shows that while detection of fake notes dropped initially, counterfeiters adapted quickly. By 2019, fake note detection had returned to pre-demonetization levels, with improved printing technology making new currency notes almost as vulnerable as the old ones.
