Kathmandu, February 27

Police have arrested five persons for allegedly printing and circulating fake Nepali banknotes in Kathmandu Valley.

Dhiraj Bahadur Srinet, 29, of Dhanusha; Manoj KC, 30, of Lalitpur; Bhesh Kumar Thapa, 31, of Solukhumbu; Ashish Majhi, 23, of Lalitpur and Nema Tamang, 34, of Ramechhap were held with fake notes totalling Rs 22,000 from the valley on Monday.

The racket came to light after Srinet produced a fake note of Rs 500 to buy medicines from Balkhu-based Karki Pharmacy. “As the pharmacist suspected that the note was not genuine, he alerted Metropolitan Police Circle, Kalimati, leading to Srinet’s immediate arrest,” said a police official.

Officials said Tamang, who brought fake notes from Birgunj, was the kingpin of the racket.

Fake notes seized by police are in denominations of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500.

Tamang is a former police constable and worked with Central Investigation Bureau, while Thapa is a former Nepali Army soldier.

Kathmandu District Court has remanded the five alleged racketeers to five-day judicial custody for further investigation. Kathmandu police have requested their Parsa counterparts to help establish the source of fake notes.