₹20 lakh fake notes recovered from madrasa in Khandwa:Maharashtra police tip-off leads to raid; Imam among 2 arrested

Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district have recovered counterfeit notes worth almost ₹20 lakh from a madrasa in village Paithiya, under Jawar police station limits. The fake notes were found in the rented room of Zuber, son of Ashraf Ansari, who worked as an Imam at the mosque. The discovery followed a tip-off from Maharashtra Police, who had earlier arrested Zuber and his associate with fake notes in Malegaon. How the case was uncovered The racket came to light after Malegaon Police in Maharashtra arrested Zuber and his associate, Nazim Akam Ayub Ansari, with counterfeit notes worth ₹10 lakh. The incident was reported in the media, and a local resident from Jawar noticed that one of the arrested men resembled Zuber, the Imam of Paithiya mosque. The resident immediately informed Jawar Police, who then contacted senior officers and confirmed with Malegaon Police that the same Zuber had been arrested. Based on this information, Khandwa Police launched a search at the madrasa. Raid at the madrasa A joint team of police officers, including DSP (Headquarters) Anil Singh Chauhan and TI Sulochana Gehlod, raided Zuber’s rented room located on the upper floor of the madrasa. During the search, police recovered a bag containing counterfeit currency. After counting, fake notes worth ₹19.78 lakh were confirmed. Police suspect that Zuber may be part of a larger counterfeit currency network operating across states. Accused linked to a bigger network According to officials, Zuber is originally from Haripura in Burhanpur district. He had been living in the madrasa for a few months while working as an Imam. Investigators believe that a big counterfeit supply chain could be active in the region. Police are now questioning the arrested men to trace others involved in the racket. Arrests made in Malegaon Earlier, Malegaon Taluka Police had arrested Zuber and Nazim on the Mumbai–Agra Highway near Hotel Avon. Police recovered bundles of ₹500 denomination counterfeit notes, totalling ₹10 lakh, along with two mobile phones and a brown IMPEX bag. The seized fake notes were confirmed to be completely counterfeit after forensic checks. Both accused were booked under Sections 179, 180, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and were remanded to eight days of police custody. Imam had joined recently Kaleem Khan, president of the Paithiya mosque committee, said Zuber earlier worked as an Imam in Benpura Dongri village. When another Imam replaced him there, Zuber was brought to Paithiya about three months ago. During his short stay, he had taken frequent leaves. On 26 October, he told the committee that his mother was unwell and went on leave. He never returned after that.