₹70 Crore in Fake ₹20 Coins: How a UP Gang Allegedly Flooded Markets Through Liquor Shops, Toll Plazas
A major counterfeit-coin racket has been busted in Uttar Pradesh, with police estimating that fake ₹20 coins worth around ₹70 crore had been circulated through markets. Five alleged members of the gang were arrested in Saharanpur after they were intercepted while transporting machinery intended to establish a new counterfeit coin-making unit.
The arrests were made in the Titron area of Saharanpur. Police said the gang was operating across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Bihar, with its network involving separate people responsible for manufacturing, supplying and circulating the counterfeit coins.
Investigators said the gang had developed a relatively organised distribution system. The fake ₹20 coins were allegedly supplied to agents, who then introduced them into everyday transactions through liquor shops, toll plazas and grocery stores. Police identified liquor outlets as one of the gang’s principal markets.
According to Saharanpur SSP Abhinandan, the gang claimed its machinery could produce between 10,000 and 12,000 counterfeit coins every day. The accused allegedly told investigators that manufacturing one fake coin cost approximately ₹5–6, while the coins were supplied to agents for around ₹12–15 each.
Police recovered 6,400 counterfeit ₹20 coins, having a face value of ₹1.28 lakh, along with semi-finished coins estimated at about ₹5 lakh. Six coin-making machines were also seized during the operation.
The seizure indicates that the gang was not simply collecting or altering genuine coins but had equipment for an organised manufacturing operation. Police also recovered five iron dies, 39 unmarked dies, 20 marked dies, a die-polishing machine, grinding stones, hammers, an iron-cutting saw and an electronic weighing scale.
The alleged kingpin has been identified as Upkar Luthra alias Abhay Pratap Singh, a former goldsmith from Mohali. Police said the man, who is in his 50s, had allegedly been involved in the counterfeit-coin trade since 2001 and was arrested by Delhi Police in 2017 after a ₹1 lakh reward had been announced for information leading to his capture.
The other arrested suspects were identified as Himanshu alias Gullu of Saharanpur, Kuldeep of Muzaffarnagar, Anurag Pal alias Lankesh of Bhadohi and Santosh Chaurasia alias Janardan of Bihar. Police said their ages ranged between 30 and 40.
Investigators believe the network used a division-of-labour model. Some members allegedly arranged machinery and supervised production, while others supplied finished coins to intermediaries and managed their circulation. Police suspect that this structure was designed to keep the wider network concealed if one member was arrested.
Police said Luthra allegedly met Himanshu while both were in Tihar Jail, and their subsequent association became the foundation of the counterfeit-coin network. Other members allegedly joined after meeting the two in different jails.
The gang had previously operated a counterfeit coin-making unit in Haryana, according to police, and was allegedly preparing to shift or expand its manufacturing activity to Saharanpur. The machines seized during the operation appeared to have been used previously.
The investigation is now focused on determining the actual scale of the network and how many counterfeit coins have entered circulation. Police have seized eight mobile phones, seven account registers and other documents that could help investigators trace suppliers, agents and previous transactions.
The ₹70-crore figure is important to understand correctly. Police have described it as an estimate of the value of counterfeit coins the accused allegedly circulated, rather than the value of the coins recovered during the latest raid. The physical seizure in this operation was worth only a fraction of that amount.
The case has also emerged amid a separate investigation into the recovery of ₹17.29 crore in counterfeit currency from the currency chest of a nationalised bank in Saharanpur. The National Investigation Agency is investigating that case and has already arrested one person, although the two investigations should not automatically be treated as the same racket unless investigators establish a connection.
The latest crackdown has therefore raised a broader question for investigators: how many fake ₹20 coins have already reached consumers, and how widely did the distribution network extend beyond Uttar Pradesh? Police are continuing to trace the manufacturing equipment, financial records and agents who allegedly helped move the counterfeit coins into routine cash transactions.
The investigation is ongoing, and the allegations against the arrested individuals will have to be established through the legal process.
