Two held with fake currency in AP; terror funding suspected

Kasiram Mandal of West Bengal and Dabba Ravikumar of Palakollu in West Godavari district were apprehended yesterday from Visakhapatnam railway station and the fake currency was seized from them, city police commissioner J Purnachandra Rao told reporters.

Police recovered fake currency with a face value of Rs 2.65 lakh from Ravikumar and Rs 2 lakh from Mandal, he said.

"The preliminary inquiry has revealed that one Saleem alias Nazeer and Sameer -- both from Chayapada village of West Bengal, bordering Bangladesh -- had secured the counterfeit currency notes from Pakistan and were trying to raise funds by exchanging them with criminals to buy genuine Indian currency, which is allegedly used for funding terrorist activities," he said.

The fake Indian currency of varying denominations was allegedly printed in Pakistan and smuggled through ISI agents into India to use it for anti-national activities in the country, Rao said.

Police are investigating the source from whom the arrested duo secured the currency, he added.