Police has arrested a 21-year-old man in possession of counterfeit currency notes of 1,000 denomination with a face value of Rs 100,000 and a printing machine in Butwal. 

Santosh Malla, a native of Kanchan Village Council-6 in Rupandehi, was arrested after he was caught trying to exchange the fake bills at the Butwal branch of Prabhu Bank on Monday. He was made public along with the seized forged notes and the printer at the Butwal Area Police Office on Thursday. 

Malla is a locally renowned social worker and an author. He operates an orphanage in Butwal called Orphan Helping Hands.  

Following his arrest, police raided the orphanage and recovered 264 fake notes mostly of 1,000 denomination.  

Deputy Superintendent of Police Mukunda Marasini said Malla was busted when he raised suspicion among the bank staffers after he withdrew Rs 100,000—all of 1,000 denomination— from the bank, swapped them with fake ones and tried to exchange them, saying he needed the money in the denomination of 500.   

He was arrested based on a CCTV footage provided by the bank.