Abhinav Verma, an engineer whose innovation was appreciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, was arrested on Friday for printing fake Rs 2,000 notes, IANS reported. Police said that they had seized fake notes are worth Rs 42 lakh from him.

The 21-year-old was arrested in Punjab’s Mohali with two accomplices – his cousin Vishakha Verma and Ludhiana-based property dealer Suman Nagpal. Abhinav and Vishakha printed the fake currency of the new Rs 2,000 denomination in their Chandigarh office. Nagpal used to find clients who would want their black money changed to new currency, added IANS. The trio charged 30% commission for the exchange. Mohali Superintendent of Police (City) Parminder Singh said that an Audi SUV used by the trio was also confiscated, and that it had a red beacon on it.

Last year, Abhinav got a mention from PM Modi in December at the Indian Science Congress in Bengaluru. At the age of 18, he created “Live Braille”, a device to help the vision-impaired to walk without a walking stick. It gained popularity and was touted as an innovation under the “Make In India’ programme. Live Braille has reportedly won awards at major engineering institutes across the country and at Illinois State University. It also won the TiEGER Award by TiE Silicon Valley USA.