Bangladesh-based network on NIA radar for pushing fake notes in India via Bengal
Jan 11, 2022
New Delhi [India], January 11 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has expedited its inquiry against an international network based in Bangladesh which is engaged in supplying Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) in India via the West Bengal route.
The West Bengal route was unearthed during the investigation of an FICN trafficking case initially registered by Uttar Pradesh's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on November 26, 2019.
The NIA took over the case on January 20, 2020, as the ATS team in Uttar Pradesh' Gomati Nagar (Lucknow) seized the FICN having a face value of Rs 1.79 lakh on November 25, 2019.
The investigation so far, the NIA said, revealed that the FICN recovered was being supplied through Malda, West Bengal.
An official in the NIA said the anti-terrorist agency has "expedited its further investigation in the case" by filing a supplementary chargesheet against an FICN trafficker Sohrab Hussain, a resident of Chakmalipur village in West Bengal's Malda district, on Monday in a special court in Lucknow under various charges of Indian Penal Code (IPC), and sections 16 and 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The accused Sohrab Hussain, who was chargesheeted on Monday, was one of the important players in the conspiracy of FICN trafficking and was also in contact with the FICN network based in Bangladesh, the agency mentioned in the chargesheet.
During the investigation, it was found that the accused persons of this case had conspired to smuggle, procure and keep high-quality FICN and had further circulated and supplied to various persons and consignees in Uttar Pradesh, the NIA chargesheet reveals.
Earlier, NIA filed a chargesheet in the case on May 21, 2020, against three accused persons and one supplementary chargesheet was filed against another accused on September 17 last year.
