Chhattisgarh Operation: Naxals escape, fake rupee notes seized

New Delhi: Security forces recovered a huge cache of fake currency notes, along with equipment used to print them, belonging to Maoists from Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, the state police said on Sunday, in the first seizures of its kind. A joint operation conducted by the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) a day earlier led to the seizures, it said.

"Naxalites were allegedly using the fake currency notes in weekly markets of interior areas of Bastar region for a long time and duping innocent tribals. Naxalites were also trying to destabilise the Indian economy with this move," said a statement from Chhattisgarh Police.

"The machinery and equipment seized indicates that the plant was started in 2022. The recovery was made on Saturday evening on a forested hill near Korajguda village of the district when a joint team of security personnel from various forces was out on a search operation," the statement added.

It said personnel belonging to the CRPF's 50th battalion, District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters and district force were involved in the operation, which was launched based on inputs that the Konta area committee of Maoists was engaged in printing fake notes in Mailasur, Korajguda and Danteshpuram areas of Sukma.

"Sensing the presence of security personnel near Korajguda, Naxalites escaped into a dense forest, leaving behind their belongings," the state police said.

"During a search of the site, the security personnel recovered a cache of fake notes in the denominations of ₹50, ₹100, ₹200 and ₹500, a coloured printing machine, a black and white printer, an inverter machine, 200 bottles of ink, four cartridges of printer machine, nine printer rollers, six wireless sets, its charger and batteries. Two muzzle loading guns, a huge cache of explosives, other materials and Naxal 'uniforms' were also seized," the state police added.

Security forces have stepped up action against left-wing extremists, killing 134 Maoists since the beginning of 2024.

(With inputs from agencies)