0.23% silver: Coins gifted to retired railways staff in Bhopal turn out to be fake

A case of a fraud, wherein silver coins offered as gifts to retired staff of the Indian Railways turned out to be fake, has come to light in Madhya Pradesh. The incident unfolded in Bhopal where some retired staff of the West Central Railway (WCR), who were given these coins as mementos in honour of their service, decided to sell the coins, Aaj Tak reported.

When the coins were examined, the silver content in the coin was found to be only 0.23%, while the rest was copper.

"We thought this was a memento of the department, but when we found out it was copper, we felt cheated. This is an insult," DK Gautam, a retired official, reportedly said.

Following the revelation, Gautam registered a complaint with Bajariya Police Station in Bhopal. An investigation has also been ordered by vigilance officials of the Western Central Railway, said the report.

An Indore-based firm, M/s Viable Diamonds, received an order for 3,640 coins, with each coin valuing at ₹2,500.

The firm supplied 3,631 coins, and allegedly defrauding the railways of ₹90 lakh by using mostly copper.

The railways has blacklisted the company, the report said.

Sub-inspector Arvind Kumar Singh of the Bajariya police station said he has sought information from the railways after which the arrests would be made.

Western Central Railway CPRO Naval Agarwal told Aaj Tak that the Railways is investigating the incident and a Vigilance team of the railways has submitted an application to the police too.

In September 2025, a similar case was unearthed in Northern Railways (NR) Lucknow division, where medals presented to employees for long service, safety achievements, innovations, and sports excellence during official functions were found to be fake.

The fraud, unearthed at the General Store Depot (GSD) at Alambagh in Lucknow, was found to be around ₹30-40 lakh. The original medals were supposed to be valued around worth ₹1.3 crore.