In a joint operation, National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths and Bihar Police personnel have nabbed an ISI operative from the Indo-Nepal border at Raxaul in East Champaran district, police said today.
The man had been identified as Sharda Shankar Kushwaha, a resident of Bara district in Nepal, is supposed to be the kingpin of the Pakistani intelligence agency in the area. He is also suspected to have links with terror organisations like Indian Mujahideen (IM)," East Champaran Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Singh said.
Altogether 21 mobile phones and several SIM cards were recovered from the alleged ISI operative, who was arrested last night, Singh said.
The NIA produced him in the court of the Judicial Magistrate S K Mishra today and took him on five-day transit remand to New Delhi.
Singh told PTI, "Kushwaha was arrested from the border area near Raxaul while he was trying to sneak into Bihar. He was being hunted for a long time now on the charges of bringing Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) consignments to India from Pakistan, Dubai, Malaysia and other countries and pushing them into India."
The SP said Kushwaha was caught with a consignment of Rs 50 lakh of FICN in March 2014 in Delhi but managed to escape from the hands of the police. The NIA had registered a case (02/2014) against him at its police station there.
"Kushwaha was kept under surveillance. He is the don of the FICN racket of ISI in this region and was hurting the Indian economy by pushing in the fake notes. He was using the Nepal route for his nefarious operations, and was trying to develop Motihari as the FICN centre in Bihar," added Singh.
NIA sources said Kushwaha was a prize catch. He will be interrogated thoroughly in Delhi and his links with terror organisation will be probed. Call details of the mobile numbers being used by him will be investigated to gain further insights, the official said.
"We have identified several names of East Champaran from the call details of Kushwaha and they will be nabbed soon," added the SP.
