A contractual worker earning around ₹11,000 a month has emerged as a key focus of the investigation into the recovery of ₹17.29 crore in suspected counterfeit currency from a Punjab National Bank (PNB) currency chest in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Investigators are examining the worker’s financial transactions, property holdings and alleged proximity to the suspended currency chest manager, Amit Kumar. According to a police officer familiar with the investigation, the worker may be the effective owner of five houses, an SUV, a sedan and two motorcycles.
Authorities are now trying to establish when these assets were purchased, whose names they are registered under and how they were financed. However, investigators have not yet established a direct connection between the assets and the counterfeit currency.
The worker was officially employed as a driver-loader at the currency chest. Investigators are examining allegations that he spent considerable time at the facility and operated more like a personal assistant to the suspended manager. His access to the premises, his actual responsibilities and whether he could enter cash-handling areas are among the issues being examined.
His lifestyle has also raised questions. Despite earning about ₹11,000 per month, he allegedly hired another driver for around ₹500 a day rather than regularly driving himself. Investigators are therefore scrutinising his bank accounts, property records, vehicle registrations and payment trails to determine whether his reported income can explain his assets.
Police raided his residence in Manakmau on Wednesday and recovered documents and other material. These are now being examined as part of the probe.
The larger investigation centres on how ₹17.29 crore in counterfeit notes entered a PNB currency chest that was supposed to contain genuine currency. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is examining whether counterfeit notes were substituted for genuine cash and what happened to the original currency.
Investigators are also exploring whether the case could be connected to a wider network, including a possible foreign or Nepal link. Cash movement records and banking transactions are expected to provide further clues about how the counterfeit currency entered the financial system and whether any of it was subsequently circulated.
The worker’s suspected assets and his proximity to the currency chest management have therefore become important parts of the ongoing investigation.
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