A gang allegedly involved in illegally melting coins to make blades and artificial jewellery from them was busted today with the arrest of four persons here.
"Police have seized coins worth Rs 50 lakh and currency notes worth Rs 26 lakh from the (accuseds') possession," SSP Yashasvi Yadav told reporters here.
"Those held have been identified as Kanpur residents Shyam Omar, Manoj Gupta, Sanjay Gupta and Kamlesh Kumar," he added.
The gang collected coins of all denominations from their contacts in various banks in the city and also used to procure wads of Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 100 notes, police said.
The gang would melt the coins to convert them into blades and artificial jewellery which were sent to Jaipur and Indore.
Each one rupee coin would reportedly yield nine blades.
As to the wads of new currency notes, the gang used to sell them for a profit for use in wedding and other functions, police added.
A search is now on for those associated with the gang including bank employees, traders, and even beggars, Yadav said.
The four accused have been booked under various sections of IPC and also under the Coinage Act of 2011, added Yadav.
