She was his teacher. Years later, he hired her for fake currency racket

A 38-year-old man allegedly turned to his former tuition teacher to help him push a fake currency racket, promising potential buyers twice the value of their genuine money in high-quality counterfeit notes, the Mumbai Police said.

Danish Tahir Khan, 38, from Thane, and his former tuition teacher, Rukhsana M, 55, were arrested on Monday after police allegedly caught them near Metro Cinema while attempting to distribute Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).

Police seized Rs 10.64 lakh in counterfeit currency, all in Rs 500 denominations, from the duo. According to police, Rukhsana had taught Khan when he was younger. After allegedly gaining access to the counterfeit notes, Khan approached her and attempted to bring her into the operation, investigators said.

DCP (Crime) Raj Tilak Roushan said police acted on a tip-off and laid a trap near Metro Cinema. “The accused were offering to double the money for anyone willing to buy the fake currency. If someone gave them Rs 500 in genuine currency, they would allegedly hand over Rs 1,000 in counterfeit notes,” he said.

Investigators said the notes were of relatively high quality but had visible differences on close inspection. The white margins were wider than those on genuine notes, while the Gandhi hologram was reportedly absent. Police suspect the counterfeit notes were printed outside Maharashtra and are investigating how the duo obtained the currency and who supplied it.

“So far, we have not found any previous criminal record against the accused. A relative of one of them owns a shoe godown, where he would also work occasionally,” Roushan said. Police are now probing the source of the counterfeit notes and whether the arrested accused were part of a larger distribution network.