HUJI links to fake notes racket?

Even as the Bihar police continue to grapple with the growing fake currency menace, a new dimension to this international racket has come to light, reports Ramashankar and R N Sinha.

Even as the Bihar police continue to grapple with the growing fake currency menace, a new dimension to this international racket has come to light.

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It is not just the Pakistan-based Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) which is pushing counterfeit notes into Indian market, but another terrorist outfit operating in Bangladesh—Harkat-Ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HUJI)—is also involved in a big way.

The startling revelations were made by two alleged ISI agents, Bhuwar Ansari (Nepal) and Manoj Sah (West Champaran), who were arrested by the East Champaran police from Sahdeva village adjacent to Indo-Nepal border a few days ago.

The police seized fake currency worth Rs 7,500 from them when they were about to deliver them to a conduit at a place hardly 50 yards away from the international borders. However, their three accomplices managed to escape with counterfeit notes worth Rs 50,000.

East Champaran Superintendent of Police Umesh Kumar said both Ansari and Sah had made frequent calls to people living in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“The phone numbers of Pakistan and Bangladesh have established beyond doubt that they were active agents of ISI and HUJI,” he said.

During interrogation, Ansari and Sah admitted to having dumped fake notes worth over Rs 5 lakh in the Indian markets in the past eight months. Vinod Mandal, Rameshwar Sahni, both residents of Kaleya in Bara district of Nepal, Bhola Mansoori alias Bhola Miya of Motipur in Muzaffarpur and Nand Kishor Prasad alias Nandu Sah of Motihari helped them circulate fake notes in the country.

Raxaul Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajiv Ranjan admitted that the ISI had spread its tentacles even in the remote interiors of north Bihar. “The arrested ISI operatives have disclosed the names of three Pakistani nationals, who actively supported them,” he said.

Raxaul inspector of police Sacchidanand Singh told HT over phone that printouts of calls made by the two arrested persons to different parts of the country, besides Bangladesh and Pakistan would help the police establish their links with those involved in anti-national activities.

Officials posted at the state police headquarters said counterfeit notes worth over Rs 20 lakh had been seized from Indo-Nepal border alone in the past eight months.

Counterfeit notes worth Rs 16.21 lakh were seized from different parts of the state in 2008. In 2007, the police had seized fake notes worth Rs 6.71 lakh, which is double of the amount recovered during 2006 (Rs 2.30 lakh).

A joint team of the SSB and DRI had also seized fake notes worth Rs 4.50 lakh from one Aslam Ansari near Raxaul border in May. “The quantum of seizure of counterfeit notes is a matter of concern for the state police as well as other security agencies,” a senior police officer posted in North Bihar said.