The Annamayya district police on Monday arrested three persons and seized fake currency notes in denominations of ₹500 and ₹200, near a weekly shandy at Madanapalle.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Madanapalle) A. Ravi Manohar Achari and Circle Inspector (II Town) S. Murali Krishna said that a special team was formed after receiving a tip-off that a gang using fake currency notes was active in the region. As part of their investigation, police detected that the gang was targeting illiterate villagers at shandies.
During an inspection at the Madanapalle shandy, the police team identified three persons who were moving around suspiciously and took them into custody. A few counterfeit currency notes were recovered from their possession, it is learnt.
Police said they raided the gang’s hideout in Chittoor and seized the equipment used to print the counterfeit notes, besides three motorbikes.
The accused were identified as Somasekhar (32) of Bangarupalem, Karanam Venkatesh (34), and Karanam Jagadeesh (35) of Chittoor. The Deputy SP said that a detailed probe was under way to ascertain the involvement of any inter-State gangs.
Minor among three held for robberies
Chittoor police on Monday nabbed a three-member gang, including a minor, for allegedly attacking motorists and pedestrians on highways and robbing them of valuables and cash.
Deputy SP (Law and Order) N. Sudhakar Reddy said that the trio's modus operandi was to target vehicles parked along the highways at desolate stretches and rob the drivers of their valuables at knifepoint. Interrogation revealed that they were wanted in over half a dozen cases in Chittoor district. The accused were also wanted in several chain-snatching cases. Two of them were identified as Sivakumar (19) and Sasi Kumar (28), both from Chittoor. The accused were sent on remand while the minor was shifted to a juvenile home.
