Days after the Centre introduced the Rs 2,000 note after its demonetisation move, a paan shop owner here today claimed that he received a "fake" note of the denomination from an unknown customer.
Vansh Barot, who runs the Anand Paan Shop in Bodakdev locality here, went to the RBI regional office, to deposit the note along with an application as directed by bank officials, in order to get rid of the "fake currency" in his possession.
Barot said he accepted the note from an unknown customer on either Friday or Saturday as he had to purchase supplies for his shop.
"I happily accepted it without doubting its authenticity, especially considering that the note has certain features of original note such as Gandhi watermark and security thread, which makes it resemble like an original note at first glance," he said.
"I took the note thinking that there is no possibility of anyone giving me a fake currency at this juncture. The note bore such close resemblance to the original note, that I had little doubt about its authenticity," he added.
Barot realised the note was fake when a supplier he went to raised an alarm after examining the note.
"When I place it against the original note, I could see the difference very clearly. The paper quality of fake note is poor, and even its size is slightly smaller than the original note," he claimed.
"When I took it to two banks to ascertain that it is fake, bankers there did not clearly told me whether the note is fake. Certain that the note is fake, I took it to a branch of another public sector bank where a senior official yesterday confirmed it is a fake," he added.
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