2 farmers receive ‘genuine’ Rs 2000 notes without Gandhi image from SBI

Two elderly farmers from a remote village in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh were shocked to receive the newly printed Rs 2000 notes without the image of Mahatma Gandhi from a State Bank of India branch.

The farmers thought the notes were fake. But bank officials were quick to take the notes back, while maintaining that they were genuine.

According to reports, the bank officials told the farmers that the image of Mahatma Gandhi was missing from the notes because of a ‘printing error’.

Many such notes, with defect but genuine, are in circulation in the region.

Laxman Meena was informed about the missing image on his Rs 2000 note by his son. Meena immediately approached the SBI branch to exchange it, when he met another farmer, Gurmeet Singh, who had similar notes.

The branch officials took the notes back from both farmers.

“The incident took place at Shivpuri Road branch of SBI. The notes were not counterfeit, but probably there was some printing error. They were taken back as soon as it (the error) was detected,” said Sheopur district manager of SBI, Akash Shrivastav told ET.

The notes carrying a picture of Mahatma Gandhi were introduced in 1996 as a part of ‘Gandhi Series’, which replaced the old legal tender. Following demonetisation, a new series, titled ‘Mahatma Gandhi New Series’ was introduced.

The faulty notes were reportedly printed at Bank Note Press in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh.

Incidentally, this is not the first time defective notes have been printed. Earlier, the government Security Paper Mill in Hoshangabad had printed about 80,000 pieces of Rs 500 notes and 10,000 pieces of Rs 1,000 notes without the security threads.