NIA convicts 4 for smuggling fake currency notes

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday convicted four persons, accused of damaging the monetary stability of India by way of smuggling and circulation of the fake Indian currency notes and thereby committing a terrorist act under relevant Sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

The quantum of punishment to convicts- Afroz Ansari, Sunny Kumar, Ishraful Alam and Alomgir Sheikh will be pronounced on October 11 by the NIA special court. A charge sheet was filed against the four accused in 2016.

In 2015, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recovered fake currency worth Rs. 5.9 lakh from one of the accused, Afroz Ansari from Motihari in Bihar. The accused was carrying this consignment of fake currency notes to Raxaul, near the India-Nepal border, for further delivery in Nepal.

During an investigation by the NIA, it emerged that a syndicate of fake currency notes smugglers was involved in procuring the notes smuggled from Bangladesh for supplying it to Nepal and various parts of India. Further investigation into the matter led to recovery of additional fake currency notes of face value Rs. 3 lakh from accused Almgir Sheikh.

Based on the evidence collected during the probe, eight accused persons from Bihar and West Bengal were arrested by the NIA and sent to judicial custody at Beur Jai in Patna.

A trial against the remaining accused persons is still underway.