Man learns printing as vocational skill in jail, starts making fake notes after release

A 35-year-old man from Madhya Pradesh diligently learnt printing techniques as a vocational skill in jail only to use them to make fake currency notes after his release, an official said on Sunday.

Bhupendra Singh Dhakat’s return to the world of crime came to light after the police arrested him on Saturday and recovered 95 counterfeit notes, each with a face value of Rs 200, the official said.

Besides, a colour printer, six ink bottles and paper used to manufacture crisp fake notes were also recovered from his house, Sironj Sub Divisional Officer of Police Umesh Tiwari told PTI.

Dhakat has confessed that he had been printing the bogus notes and pumping them into the market in the district for the past few months.

Tiwari said Dhakat is involved in 11 criminal cases, including murder, and had been in and out of jail.

During his last prison stint in the district, Dhakat acquired printing skills as part of a vocational training programme designed to assist inmates in reintegrating into society after their release, he said.

However, Dhakat turned his newly acquired knowledge into an illegal quick-buck venture, he said.

Though he had been externed from the limits of Vidisha, Rajgarh, Raisen, Bhopal and Ashok Nagar districts for a year, he somehow managed to stay put here and print fake notes, a police source said.

According to Vidisha Jail superintendent Priyadarshan Shrivastava, inmates are given offset printing and screen printing training to help them eke out a living after release.