Special NIA court jails two for distributing fake Indian currency notes

A special NIA court has sentenced two people to six years in prison for their involvement in distributing fake Indian currency notes smuggled from Bangladesh into the country.

Nasir Sheikh and Tajel Sk, residents of West Bengal's Malda district, were convicted and sentenced under sections 120B, 489B and 489C of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The special NIA court in Kolkata sentenced Sheikh and Tajel to six years of imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000 and Rs 8,000, respectively.

On March 30, 2016, West Bengal Police of Baishnabnagar police station with a team of the Border Security Force (BSF) seized FICN of face value Rs 9,80,000 in the denominations of Rs 1,000 and 500 from the possession of Sheikh near the Indo-Bangladesh border at Sukhdevpur in Malda and arrested him the next day.

Subsequently, an FIR was lodged in the Baishnabnagar police station.

Later, the NIA took over the case.

After completion of investigation, the NIA filed a charge sheet against three accused -- Sheikh, Tajel and one Durul Hoda.

The first two arrested accused pleaded guilty for the charges.

The NIA court accepted their plead guilty petitions and pronounced them guilty of the charges against them.

The third accused, Hoda, is a Bangladeshi national and is absconding.

The NIA has sent a request to Bangladesh for assistance under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty for tracing him.

During 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 Note (FICN) in India.

Investigation revealed that the FICN was smuggled from Bangladesh via the Indo-Bangladesh border and was to be circulated in other parts of the country.