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CBI to investigate Uttar Pradesh fake currency racket

LUCKNOW: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe into the six cases of fake currency racket unearthed in Uttar Pradesh since July this year.

The racket was exposed by the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the U.P. police in Aligarh, Bijnor, Lucknow and Domariaganj in Siddhartnagar district. Fake currency with a face value of Rs 4.25 crore was recovered from the Domariaganj branch of State Bank of India.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order and STF) Brij Lal said the six cases pertained to two seizures of fake currency totalling Rs. 20 lakh in Aligarh, Rs. 1 lakh in Bijnor, Rs. 16 lakh from four persons in Lucknow, Rs. 5 lakh from Abid alias Pandit in Lucknow and Rs. 7.2 lakh from the residence of Sudhakar Tripathi. Tripathi was the cashier in State Bank’s currency chest branch in Domariaganj.

Mr. Lal said the Reserve Bank of India was asked to check the currency chest of the Domariaganj branch of the SBI, on the basis of leads given by Abid.

Two routes were used to bring fake currency into the State. One was through Nepal and the other from Bangladesh. It was revealed during Abid’s interrogation that the fake currency was brought into Uttar Pradesh from Nepal by carriers and handlers. The ADG (Law and Order) said the seizure in Bijnor revealed the Bangladesh link — the counterfeit money was smuggled into India through Kalia Chak and Malda in West Bengal.

Abid, who has emerged as the chief agent in the nefarious trade, appeared to suggest during questioning that the fake currency came through other Asian countries as well. The STF did not rule out the role of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence.

The Uttar Pradesh government referred the six cases to the CBI on August 10.

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