NIA court convicts 2 in FICN case; third accused absconding

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Kolkata convicted Nasir Sheikh and Tajel SK in a Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) case sentencing them to six years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 8,000 respectively.

In March 2016, West Bengal Police of Baishnabnagar Police Station, with a team of BSF, seized Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of face value Rs. 9,80,000, in the denominations of Rs.1000 and 500 from the possession of Nasir Sheikh near the Indo-Bangladesh Border at Sukhdevpur, District Malda.

Later, the NIA took over the case and re-registered it in August 2016. After completion of the investigation, the NIA filed a charge sheet against the three accused; Nasir Sheikh, Tajel SK, and Durul Hoda.

The first two arrested accused pleaded guilty for the charges against them. The third accused, Durul Hoda, is a Bangladeshi national and is currently absconding.

During the investigation, it was established that the above accused along with their associates in Bangladesh hatched a criminal conspiracy for procuring and circulating fake Indian currency notes in India. Investigation revealed that FICN was smuggled from Bangladesh via the Indo-Bangladesh border and was to be circulated in other parts of the country.