Sheopur: Two elderly farmers in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district got a shock after being handed Rs 2000 notes without the customary picture of Mahatma Gandhi on Wednesday at State Bank of India (SBI).

The farmers, who thought the currency was fake, heaved a sigh of relief when the bank officials told them that the notes were genuine but were not printed properly.

Laxman Meena, from village Bichhugawdi, had withdrawn Rs 6,000 from the SBI branch. Laxman had never seen the new Rs 2,000 note so did not react when he was handed three Rs 2,000 notes by the cashier.

Sheopur (Madhya Pradesh): Farmer receives Rs 2000 notes from SBI Bank without Mahatma Gandhi's image pic.twitter.com/To8yiFIFxq — ANI (@ANI_news) January 5, 2017

But when Laxman reached home, his son saw the notes and informed him that they were fake notes as the currency did not have Mahatma Gandhi’s picture on them.

Alarmed, he hurriedly reached the bank and narrated the matter to the bank officers.

Initially the bank staff tried to hush-up the matter but soon another farmer, Gurmeet Singh from Kadukhera village, reached the bank with two Rs 2,000 notes with the same issue.

The bank officers quietly accepted the notes but did not offer new notes.

Shrawanlal Meena, Manager of the branch, said that the notes were not fake. "The space meant for picture was blank. We have accepted the notes," he said.