# UP STF busts Shravasti fake currency racket, seizes Rs 1.74 lakh notes 2026-11-07T06:12:00+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and local police have busted an inter-district counterfeit currency printing racket in Shravasti, arresting three men and seizing fake Indian currency notes with a face value of Rs 1.74 lakh, officials said on 6 November. The raid at Giriraj Rice Mill in Bhithiya Chichri village on 5 November yielded 804 counterfeit notes comprising 223 of Rs 500, 44 of Rs 200 and 537 of Rs 100 denomination. Police also recovered a colour printer, ink refills, paper, cutter blades, three mobile phones and Rs 5,500 in cash, along with materials sufficient to print fake currency worth lakhs of rupees. The arrested accused have been identified as Girija Shankar Jaiswal of Bahraich, and Narendra Kumar Chaurasia and Brijendra Goswami (reported as Vrijendra Goswami by ThePrint), both from Shravasti. The STF said the gang allegedly planned to push the fake notes into circulation during Diwali, targeting cash transactions at gambling gatherings and festive markets. According to ThePrint, the accused were offering counterfeit notes worth Rs 3 lakh in exchange for genuine currency worth Rs 1 lakh and had planned to share profits equally. An FIR has been registered at Sonwa police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and further investigation is underway. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Hindustan Times story leads with the STF's operation and names additional superintendent of police Amit Kumar Nagar, while ThePrint's PTI-sourced report quotes district SP Rahul Bhati and adds the profit-sharing detail, offering Rs 3 lakh of fake notes for Rs 1 lakh of genuine currency, that is absent from the first source. Both frame the raid as a pre-Diwali bust with near-identical figures and seized items, reflecting uniform wire agency bedrock. The Hindustan Times account includes the specific time of arrest and several accused confessions, slightly narrowing the focus to law enforcement's narrative. The balanced reading: coverage is consistently factual across both outlets, with minor selectivity in which police official is named and which interrogation specifics are included. Neither source adopts a critical tone toward the government, both present the operation as efficient. The next step from both reports is a filed FIR under the BNS and investigation underway. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Leads with STF, names additional SP, adds time of raid - theprint.in (neutral report) Quotes district SP, adds profit-sharing detail This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, counterfeit currency, Girija Shankar Jaiswal, Shravasti, UP STF Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/up-stf-busts-shravasti-fake-currency-racket-seizes-rs-1-74-lakh-notes/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/up-stf-busts-shravasti-fake-currency-racket-seizes-rs-1-74-lakh-notes/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/