Fake currency being pumped into State

STAFF Reporter
GUWAHATI, Aug 1 – Pumping in of fake Indian currency via Assam has emerged as the major factor behind economic imbalance across the country and an action plan is being chalked out to plug the entry routes, especially on the Assam-Bangla border. Asserting that the rampant business of printing and circulation of fake currency is making fast inroads into every nook and corner of the country, and Assam or for that matter the entire North East is considered as one of the hubs of such business, police sources here told this reporter that the police department would launch a multi-pronged operation against the racketeers operating in the State.

“The Indian Government too is according top priority to this menace, which is evident from the fact that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also taken over a case of fake currency circulation in Mumbai,” said an Assam Police official.

Asked whether the NIA has sought Assam Police’s help to wipe out the flourishing trade of fake currency, the police official said, “Places like Dhubri and Barpeta are considered as the hub of such business where fake currencies are pumped in from even places like Dubai, Nepal and Bangladesh and if the NIA manage to unearth any link of the case concerned with those operating in the region, there is strong possibility of the same.”

The NIA, it may be mentioned, was given the case by the Central Government on June 4 after fake currency worth several lakhs was seized and as many as six persons arrested from Mumbai in this connection.

“As the State has reported a large number of such cases in the last few years, it has now become imperative to plug the holes across the State,” said a senior police official.

In the last 10 years, Assam Police has recovered fake currency worth over Rs 1 crore and more than 100 arrests have been made in this connection. ASSAM TRIBUNE