Reporter unearths stamp papers, notes in Nashik house

Close on the heels of police seizing fake adhesive stamps worth Rs 72 lakh from a dump in Nashik, a television channel in a sting operation on Monday claimed to have unearthed another dump of stamps and foreign currency notes in the temple town.

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The channel claimed that the dump belonged to Prasoon Agarwal alias Abhay Bansal and was located in a house adjacent to the premises from where the Rs 72 lakh worth fake stamps were seized. The Special Investigation Team has arrested Agarwal in connection with that seizure.

ZEE News [ Get Quote ] ran the story showing its reporter entering through a broken window of a house and filming stacked piles purportedly of stamps and currency belonging to different countries. The video also showed a huge quantity of stamps belonging to different countries and rolls of stamp paper and printing machinery as well.

A release from the TV channel in Delhi [ Images ] said it was not immediately known whether the currency and stamps were original or fake. The currencies were from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Zambia and other countries.

Maharashtra [ Images ] Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal [ Images ], who also holds the home portfolio, said he was unaware of the dump. The Maharashtra police said it was looking into the matter.

After the television channel broadcast the footage, a police team, led by city police chief P T Lohar, arrived at the bungalow, named Padma, and seized 90-100 cartons containing currencies of several countries, including Pakistan, Somalia and Brazil [ Images ], Czechoslovakia and Argentina besides some Indian currency.

The police summoned officials of the State Bank of India [ Get Quote ], India Security Press and Currency Note Press to identify the currency, Lohar told reporters.