NIA Probes ₹11,000-Salary Bank Worker's Assets in Saharanpur Fake Currency Case

An outsourced bank worker earning around ₹11,000 a month has become a key focus of the investigation into the recovery of counterfeit Indian currency with a face value of ₹17.29 crore from a Punjab National Bank currency chest in Saharanpur. The National Investigation Agency is examining his reported assets, financial transactions and alleged proximity to suspended currency chest manager Amit Kumar.

The worker, who was employed as a driver-loader at the currency chest, is reportedly linked to five houses, an SUV, a sedan and two motorcycles. Investigators are studying property documents, bank accounts, vehicle records and payment trails to determine when the assets were acquired, in whose names they were registered and how they were financed. So far, agencies have not established a direct connection between the assets and the counterfeit currency case.

His association with the suspended manager has nevertheless drawn scrutiny. A senior police official familiar with the investigation said the worker’s formal responsibilities were limited to driving and loading, but he allegedly spent substantial time inside the currency chest and functioned more like the manager’s personal assistant. Investigators are now examining the nature of his actual duties and the level of access he had within the facility.

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The official said authorities are particularly looking into whether the worker had access to cash-handling areas or other restricted sections of the currency chest. His reported lifestyle has added to the questions surrounding his financial position. Despite his modest salary, he allegedly hired another driver for approximately ₹500 a day rather than regularly driving himself, prompting investigators to compare his known income with his expenditure and assets.

Police raided his residence in Manak Mau on Wednesday and recovered documents and other material that are now being examined. The asset trail is being assessed alongside the larger question of how counterfeit notes worth ₹17.29 crore entered a PNB currency chest that was supposed to contain genuine cash. Investigators are considering whether fake notes were substituted for legitimate currency and what happened to the original money.

The NIA is also tracing the origin and movement of the counterfeit notes to determine whether the case is connected to a wider financial network or a possible foreign link. Banking transactions, cash-movement records and other financial evidence are being examined to establish how the fake currency entered the banking system and whether any of it reached circulation. Officials have stressed that unexplained assets do not by themselves prove involvement, but any financial disparity could offer an important lead in uncovering the broader network behind the case.

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