An employee of the India Government Mint in Mumbai was recently booked for “stealing” two unreleased Rs 20 coins and hiding it in his locker.
As per reports, the accused identified as R Chabukswar was booked by the police under Section 381 of the Indian Penal Code (theft by a clerk of property owned by his/her employer), which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.
Acting on a tip-off, a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) inspector posted at the mint had the employee’s locker on Sunday, in front of two eye-witnesses and had found the unreleased Rs 20 coins.
The MRA Marg police, who had booked Chabukswar on Monday, are now investigating if he has stolen more coins from the mint earlier.
According to the police, it would have been difficult for Chabukswar to smuggle the coins out of the office premise, as all employees are checked by CISF guards on entry and exit gates.
However, the police have not yet to arrest the accused due to the COVID-19 situation but they have sent a notice asking him to cooperate in the investigation.
In March 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled a series of coins of which, new Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5 and Rs 10 coins were circulated but the Rs 20 coin was expected to be released in April this year.
However, the release of the new Rs 20 coin got delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Finance Ministry’s notification, the Rs 20 coin – the highest-denomination coin minted in India to date will be in the shape of a dodecagon, a 12-sided polygon.