india

Updated: Nov 13, 2016 11:55 IST

A farmer was duped with a fake Rs 2,000 banknote in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district, in what is the first reported case of forgery barely a few days after the new high-value currency was launched.

The farmer, identified only as Ashok, was at the APMC market here on Saturday to sell onions. An unidentified person reportedly bought some his produce and paid with the fake note. Ashok only realised he was duped when he showed the Rs 2,000 banknote to some of his friends.

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“It was a photocopy of the original note... anybody can notice it easily,” police superintendent K Annamalai was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

The farmer reportedly had not seen the new currency, which was launched only on Thursday.

The police have lodged a complaint against the unidentified person under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.

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New Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 were launched after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the existing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will no longer be considered legal tender from November 9.

The Rs 2,000 notes, which are being introduced for the first time, are of magenta colour with the Mangalyaan imprinted on the reverse side. The high-value currency notes will have other designs, geometric patterns aligning with the overall colour scheme both on the obverse and reverse.

The Rs 500 banknotes will be stone grey in colour with a predominant new theme of the Indian heritage site Red Fort.