'Kuchh bhi ho sakta hai!' Fake notes with Anupam Kher's face used to con bullion trader of Rs 1.3 crore

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher on Sunday reacted in disbelief after an Ahmedabad bullion trader was scammed with fake Rs 500 notes bearing his image. He also shared a news report showing the recovery of the fake notes. Kher took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote: "My photo instead of Mahatma Gandhi's on a Rs 500 note??? Kuch bhi ho sakta hai (Anything can happen)."

The bullion trader, identified as Mehul Thakkar, filed a complaint at the Navrangpura police station in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on September 24 after being scammed with fake Rs 500 notes. A fake Angadia firm was formed Navrangpura.

Thakkar said in his complaint that the accused cheated him of more than 2 kg gold by giving him fake notes worth Rs 1.30 crore, India Today reported. As per the police complaint, Thakkar received a call on September 23 from the manager of Laxmi Jewelers, who was known to him.

The manager asked Thakkar if he wanted to buy 2 kg 100 grams of gold and if yes, then at what price. Since Mehul was doing business with Laxmi Jewelers for the last 15 years, he made the deal for Rs 1.60 crore without any hesitation. The two finalised the deal and the gold was sent to Thakkar the next day.

On September 24, Laxmi Jewelers' manager called Thakkar and told him that some other party needs gold immediately and that RTGS is not working. The manager also said that he will give the security amount against the gold and send money via RTGS the next day. 

He further mentioned that the people who buy the gold will be there at the angadia firm on CG road and will do the transaction there itself. 

Mehul then dispatched a worker from his staff with 2 kg 100 grams of gold. There were three people present, one of whom had a cash note counting machine. The second guy was dressed like a Sikh man with a turban, while the third person was sitting outside the firm. 

The two persons who acquired the gold retained notes worth 1.30 crores as a security deposit and stated that if you surrender the gold, the remaining 30 lakhs would be brought from another office.

After handing over the gold, he discovered that the notes were counterfeit, with a picture of film actor Anupam Kher replacing Gandhiji and the stamp of SBI, or State Bank of India, printed on them. Mehul and the Laxmi Jewelers manager went to the location and enquired in the nearby shops, only to find out that this was an angadiya peedhi, which had only been started 2 days prior. 

When the person who had phoned Laxmi Jewelers was called, his phone was turned off, prompting Mehul Thakkar to file a complaint with the Navrangpura police station.

The man standing with the note counting machine had also arrived to deliver it and was unaware of the two scammers. As a result, the police began researching adjacent CCTV cameras and organized a team to locate them.

(With inputs from Brijesh Doshi)