A shocking case has emerged from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, where a madrasa was being used as a cover for printing counterfeit currency. The illegal operation was being run with the consent of the madrasa’s cleric, Maulvi Mohammad Tafseerul. The incident took place at the Jamia Habibiya Madrasa located in the Atarsuiya area of Prayagraj. During a police raid, four people, including the cleric, were arrested on the spot. The accused were using green tape to create the security thread for the fake notes.
According to the police, they recovered a total of 1,300 counterfeit notes in the denomination of Rs 100. The cleric confessed that these fake notes were being distributed across various parts of the city. In addition to the fake currency, the police also seized printers, scanners, equipment used for making counterfeit notes, and the special paper required for their production from the madrasa’s premises.
Further investigation revealed that the principal of Jamia Habibiya Madrasa, Mohammad Tafseerul, had rented a room in the madrasa to Zahid Khan, a fake currency producer from Odisha. The police stated that Tafseerul was fully aware of the counterfeit currency operation and was, in fact, a shareholder in the illicit business along with Zahid Khan.
DCP Nagar Deepak Bhukar disclosed that this operation had been running inside the madrasa for the past three months. Mohammad Afzal and Mohammad Shahid, residents of Kareli in Prayagraj, were responsible for distributing the fake notes in the market.
According to the police, counterfeit notes worth Rs 45,000 were being exchanged for Rs 15,000 in genuine currency. They believe that counterfeit currency worth lakhs of rupees has already been circulated in the market.
Based on Zahid Khan’s confession, the police recovered 1,300 fake Rs 100 notes, along with the scanner, printer, paper, and other equipment used in their production. The investigation is ongoing, and the police are thoroughly probing the connections of madrasa principal Mohammad Tafseerul and mastermind Zahid Khan. Anyone found involved in this illegal operation will face strict action.
