A routine police check in a small village in Madhya Pradesh has unexpectedly uncovered one of the state’s biggest fake currency networks — and at the centre of it, officers say, was not a career criminal
but an MBBS doctor who once served in government hospitals.
The Khandwa Police on Friday confirmed the arrest of Dr Pratik Navlakhe along with three others, revealing how an operation that began inside the Khandwa District Jail had grown into a multi-state counterfeiting racket.
Officers said the group printed fake notes in bulk and pushed them into circulation across Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Some of the counterfeit money was even used to buy property.
Dr Navlakhe, 43, hails from Burhanpur and earlier worked as a medical officer and later as a resident medical officer at the district hospital.
Despite his respectable background, police said he had a history of financial fraud and had previously been accused of embezzling large sums while working in government posts. After spending time in jail, he set aside his medical career and moved into crime on a much bigger scale.
He rented a flat in Bhopal’s Gokuldham Society and quietly built a sophisticated printing setup using scanners, printers, cutters and dyes. He then appointed agents in Nagpur, Malegaon and other cities to move the fake notes. Police estimate the gang has circulated nearly Rs 40 lakh worth of counterfeit currency so far.
The case first surfaced on 2 November after villagers in Pethiya informed the Jawar Police that maulana Zuber Ansari — already arrested in Maharashtra for fake currency — might have hidden notes in his rented room. During the search, officers found Rs 19.78 lakh in forged Rs 500 notes, along with a cutting machine and raw material. The notes showed poor security threads and mismatched prints.
Realising the scale of the crime, SP Manoj Kumar Rai set up a Special Investigation Team led by ASP Mahendra Taranekar, with DSP Anil Singh Chauhan, TI Praveen Arya and other officers. As the team probed further, they discovered that the maulana was only transporting notes and the mastermind was in Bhopal.
On 23 November, the SIT raided Gokuldham Society and found printers, drying machines, stacks of unfinished notes and three men working inside. Dr Navlakhe was arrested along with Gopal alias Rahul (35) and Dinesh Gore (43). Equipment worth lakhs and several financial documents were seized.
Investigators later learned that the accused first met inside the Khandwa District Jail and regrouped after their release to start the fake currency operation. They also ran a fake travel agency on Hoshangabad Road as a front to recruit agents and move counterfeit cash to Nagpur, Malegaon and Jalgaon.
ASP Taranekar said, “Dr Pratik Navlakhe was identified as the mastermind. We formed an SIT and traced him to Bhopal. In Gokuldham Society, we found three men and a fully active currency-printing setup. These people met in jail. They used to print four Rs 500 notes on a single sheet. The notes were circulated in various states.
Till now, around Rs 40 lakh has been printed. They even tried printing Rs 50 notes earlier. The maulana’s role was limited as he collected money and found buyers. The doctor had earlier escaped on the Char Dham Yatra to avoid arrest.”
The investigation is still under way, with police now tracking the gang’s financial links and property purchases.
