India: $3 million jackpot that a ragpicker found had fake notes. Then this happened

A ragpicker in the Indian city of Bengaluru found US dollar bills worth 3 million. That story now has a gangster plot, a kidnap twist and a fake currency angle.

According to a report by NDTV on Friday (Nov 10), the jackpot had fake notes. Saleman discovered the money earlier this month while he was scavenging for waste near the Nagawara railway station.

Speaking to NDTV, Saleman said he fainted after seeing this much money, adding he knew that it was not Indian currency.

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He waited for days before he finally approached his contractor Bappa on November 5.

Bappa then approached a social activist who subsequently informed the police. Amid the cops getting involved in this matter, a gang kidnapped Bappa on Tuesday. Speaking to the network, the contractor said he was blindfolded and kidnapped from his house. He was also tortured.

According to Bappa, he kept saying to the gang that he informed the police and gave them the dollar bills. However, it took a few hours for the gang to believe him and let him go.

The contractor also told NDTV that he did not file a police complaint as the gang threatened to kill his family if he did.

The package that Saleman found near the Nagawara railway station also had a note on a United Nations letterhead talking about the conflict in Sudan. The note said that the dollar bills were anti-breeze and were not to be exposed to air or atmospheric pressure.

Saleman said that the bills had a smell of some chemical and he fell sick. The police seized the bills and sent them to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for examination.

(With inputs from agencies)