Fake notes from SBI ATM: Arrest of cash custodian reveals mystery of fake Rs 2,000 notes from 'Children Bank of India'

A 27-year-old man named Mohammed Isha has been arrested in connection with a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM issuing fake Rs 2,000 notes in Sangam Vihar in Delhi, blowing the lid off how these notes — purportedly issued by the Children Bank of India bearing "Churan Lable" and promising "coupens" — came to be deposited in the ATM in the first place, despite stringent checks by India's largest lender to prevent exactly such kind of incidents.

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Delhi DCP (Southeast) Romil Baaniya has been quoted by news agencies as saying on Thursday: "The accused was already identified yesterday and today we arrested him. He has been identified as 27-year-old Mohammed Isha, who is a resident of Sangam Vihar." His alleged involvement came to light after the police thoroughly scanned the CCTV footage from the ATM.

Isha is a Bachelor of Arts from Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh and was a custodian of cash at the ATM when notes were being placed in it. He is currently employed by Brinks India Pvt Ltd, which handles the filling of cash at several ATMs.

The role of an outsider was suspected in the case because an SBI spokesperson confirmed the bank's standard operating procedures regarding all notes, saying: "All notes received by the bank and to be dispensed by it, either through its ATMs or its branches, are processed through the latest state-of-the-art 'Note Sorting Machines.' These machines are equipped with the templates of all legal tender in the country and any note not conforming to the security features is separated as 'Suspect Note' for further manual scrutiny. Thus, no fake note is likely to be dispensed through the bank's ATMs at any time."

Thus, the only way the fake notes — created possibly as part of some Monopoly-like board game — could end up in the ATMs was if they had been put there by someone who handled the cash while putting it into the machine. This is what the police probed, and that led them to Isha's doorstep.