Bizarre: Farmers stunned after they receive Rs 2000 note without Mahatma Gandhi’s photo on it

It seems the Indian government was in such a hurry to print new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes to meet the burgeoning demand that it forgot to print Mahatma Gandhi’s photo on the notes. Yes, farmers in Madhya Pradesh were stunned after they received Rs 2000 notes without Mahatma Gandhi’s picture on it.

This happened in a village in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district, where farmers received newly printed Rs 2000 notes without the image of Mahatma Gandhi from a State Bank of India branch. They approached the bank officials, thinking the notes were fake. However, the officials said the note was “genuine”.

They cleared that the image was missing due to printing error. Banking and police sources told that many such defective, yet genuine, currency notes were in circulation in the region.

Krishna Meena from Bicchugavdi village didn't even notice something was missing when he received a Rs 2000 rupee note from the SBI branch. It was only when he went to market that he was alerted by another farmer who had two similar notes. Both teamed up and went back to the SBI branch, which promptly took back the "faulty" notes.

"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. The space meant for the picture is blank. We have taken the notes back," Sheopur district manager of SBI, Akash Shrivastav. Shrawanlal Meena, manager of Shivpuri Road branch, told ET.