Four held, counterfeit currency worth over Rs 6 lakh seized

The Mumbai branch of the National Investigation Agency has arrested four persons and seized Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) with face value of over Rs 6 lakh from their possession in Bengaluru, an official today said.

The currency, in the denomination of Rs 2,000, was suspected to have been smuggled from Bangladesh, an NIA spokesperson said here.

Acting on a tip-off, officials from the Mumbai branch of NIA and the Karnataka police carried out a raid in Aluru area of Bengaluru yesterday and seized Rs 4.34 lakh-worth FICN from the possession of three persons, he said.

The officials had information that a deal to swap fake currency for genuine money was going to be struck at BDA Layout in Aluru area, he said.

The sleuths arrested M G Raju and Gangadhar Kolkar who hail from Karnataka and Sajjad Ali, resident of Khejuriaghat area in Malda district of West Bengal.

It would have been difficult for an ordinary person to detect that these notes were fake, the NIA spokesperson said.

Following their interrogation, NIA sleuths and local police seized fake Indian currency with face value of Rs 2.5 lakh from the possession of a woman in Bengaluru today, he said.

A case was registered at Madanayakanahally Police Station in Bengaluru under IPC section 489 (use or distribution of fake Indian currency). Further probe is underway.