Mystery of ₹2.83 Crore Left on Indore Highway Deepens as Police Hunt Suspects

 A perplexing discovery on the Sawar-Ujjain Road has left police scrambling for answers. Three abandoned bags containing approximately ₹2.83 crore in cash were recovered Thursday morning, but a troubling detail has added an unexpected twist: bundles of counterfeit notes mixed with legitimate currency and colored paper stuffed between denominations.

The bags were first spotted by a farmer around 10 a.m., abandoned on the roadside near the Grameen police station jurisdiction. Within hours, a large crowd had gathered at the location, forcing police to secure the area and begin their preliminary investigation.

Initial Count Raises Questions

When officers opened and examined the bags, they found 566 bundles of ₹500 notes stacked neatly on the top and bottom layers. What followed was more surprising: over 130 bundles contained layers of colored paper interspersed between genuine notes—a technique commonly associated with currency smuggling or fraud operations.

"The notes appeared authentic at first glance," said TI Girjashankar Mahodia, who led the on-site investigation. "But once we began examining individual bundles, the pattern became clear. It wasn't a random dump—this was deliberate placement."

The total value of notes recovered stands at approximately ₹2.83 crore, though police have emphasized that verification of authenticity is ongoing. Officials from the Mahu division have sent samples for expert examination to confirm whether the entire consignment, portions, or only specific bundles are counterfeit.

CCTV Hunt Underway

Additional SP Rupesh Dwivedi confirmed that police are now reviewing CCTV footage from cameras along the highway corridor to identify who left the bags at that specific location. The arrangement of bundles—genuine notes layered atop suspected counterfeits with paper filler—suggests the stash wasn't haphazardly discarded but abandoned under deliberate circumstances.

"We're treating this as an active investigation," Dwivedi told reporters. "The objective right now is to establish a timeline, identify the individuals involved, and understand the source and intended destination of this consignment."

Local residents' cooperation in alerting authorities has proven crucial. The area sees regular traffic movement, and police are confident the footage will provide leads on the timeline and vehicle details.

Questions Mount on Origin

The discovery raises multiple unanswered questions. How did such a substantial amount end up on a roadside? Was this an intended drop-off point? Did a transaction go wrong, or was it abandoned to avoid police detection?

Highway officials note that the Sawar-Ujjain Road is a frequently traveled commercial route connecting Indore with neighboring areas. The bags' placement suggests either panic abandonment or a failed exchange operation.

For now, the mystery remains unsolved. While forensic teams continue their work, investigators have broadened their search to surrounding areas and are cross-referencing the incident with recent intelligence on currency-related operations in the region.

The bags and their contents remain in police custody as the investigation progresses.