Hyderabad: A group that lost ₹5 lakh after allegedly being duped by a fake currency gang reportedly resorted to kidnapping in an attempt to recover the money. The group had paid ₹5 lakh, hoping to receive fake currency worth ₹20 lakh, but the gang allegedly fled after another group posed as police officers. Three men were later held captive, and one of them was allegedly forced to tell his wife that he had been kidnapped and would be released only after she paid ₹5 lakh.Adilabad police arrested six persons in connection with the fake currency and kidnapping cases, DSP L Jeevan Reddy said on Monday. Three were arrested in the kidnapping case and three others in the fake currency case.The DSP said the chain of events began when Prateek, a resident of Pandharkawada, introduced Deepak Sriram Pawar (33), Sarkar Alok (46) and Elchalwar Surender (38) to a Nagpur-based fake currency gang. The gang allegedly promised to provide fake currency worth ₹4 lakh for every ₹1 lakh paid, claiming the buyers could make substantial profits by circulating it.The group decided to invest ₹5 lakh to obtain fake currency worth ₹20 lakh. Surender and two others from Maharashtra allegedly collected ₹5 lakh from Sheikh Shakeeb and handed it over to the gang near the Maval bypass on Sept 10.After taking the money, the gang members allegedly showed them a box, claiming it contained the fake currency. At the same time, another group arrived posing as police personnel and threatened the buyers. The two groups then fled towards Nagpur in separate cars without handing over the currency, police said.Shakeeb, who had lost ₹5 lakh, allegedly joined hands with Mohammed Sitar (20) and Pratham Ravindra Gurukundalwar (20) to recover the money. The trio allegedly held captive Surender, Alok and Deepak.They allegedly forced Surender to call his wife and tell her that he had been kidnapped and that ₹5 lakh had to be paid for his release. Surender’s wife approached the Maval police, who registered a kidnapping case.Police also registered a separate case over the fake currency transaction.As part of the investigation, police conducted vehicle checks and intercepted a car at a petrol bunk in Dasnapur on Sunday. The occupants were taken into custody, and questioning revealed links between the two cases, police said.Shakeeb, Sitar and Pratham were arrested in the kidnapping case, while Deepak, Alok and Surender were arrested in the fake currency case.Prateek of Pandharkawada and four members of the Nagpur-based fake currency gang are absconding. Special teams have been formed to trace them, while police are also probing the role of others involved in the fake currency operation, the DSP said.
