New Delhi, Jan 16 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Border Security Force (BSF) have arrested an alleged Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) operative in an intelligence based joint operation conducted in Mojampur village of Malda district in West Bengal on Saturday.
During preliminary interrogation, accused Aladu alias Matahur Sheikh disclosed that he received Rs 5,000 per Rs one lakh as commission for onward distribution of counterfeit notes, BSF said in a statement.
BSF team of Farakka, Sector Malda and NIA personnel from Kolkata conducted the joint operation to arrest Aladu. Later, BSF handed over Aladu to the NIA officials for further interrogation and legal proceedings.
Aladu has been on NIA radar since 2019, following the arrest of one Asim Sarkar from Jhaljhaliya, Malda with Rs 1,99,000 Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN). During interrogation, Asim Sarkar had disclosed Aladu as his accomplice in the illegal network of fake currency notes, said BSF.
Earlier, NIA had filed a charge sheet against four accused persons, including Aladu for his alleged role in FICN trafficking. “He had been involved in procurement of High Quality FICN from his Bangladeshi associates and further circulating the same in India with an intention to damage economic stability of the country,” NIA said in a statement.
The National Investigation Agency has already been probing cross border conspiracies and Bangladesh connection in pumping counterfeit Indian notes in the country.
The agency had on Tuesday filed a second supplementary charge sheet before the special NIA court in Lucknow against one Sohrab Hussain in connection with another such counterfeit currency racket case. Hussain too was allegedly supplying fake currency in India.
During investigation by various agencies, it has been found that Pakistan has been using Nepal and Bangladesh routes to infiltrate counterfeit currency into India and several such syndicates are active in circulation of counterfeit currency notes in India.
The government has also constituted a Terror Funding and Fake Currency Cell (TFFC) under NIA to conduct a focused investigation into terror funding and fake currency cases, Minister of State Nityanand Rai had told Parliament in Monsoon Session.
