Is Bangalore turning into gateway for fake currency notes?

Is Bangalore becoming the new hub to pump in fake currency notes into the country? Security experts have differing views—while the National Investigating Agency (NIA) claims that the city has become a new gateway for fake currency, in the wake of recent arrests; the Bangalore city crime branch begs to differ.

They feel it is next to impossible to smuggle fake currency to the city directly from Dubai. They argue that smugglers can do so only by air and run the risk of getting caught at the airport itself.

“We have investigated many fake currency cases and found that smugglers route it through West Bengal. The fake currency enters into the country from Nepal and Bangladesh. The smugglers still use the same route as it is safe,” said a senior police officer who deals with fake currency cases in the city.

However, NIA claims that information gathered from arrested fake currency smugglers reveals that Bangalore has become a new conduit. They cite recent arrests of two persons for fake currency smuggling in New Delhi in March as a case in point.

The NIA team had recovered fake currency worth `9.85 lakh from Imran and Jenab, both residents of New Delhi. The investigations revealed that fake currency was smuggled into India from Pakistan using Dubai as a transit route. Iqbal Kana, a Pakistani national, was behind the fake currency racket and had been operating for many years. Kana had dispatched the contraband to Dubai, from where Mohammed Ashraf, Kana’s close associate, sent it to Bangalore.

The Bangalore operative had then forwarded this fake currency consignment to the two accused in New Delhi. The NIA officials say that the arrested smugglers were part of Kana’s core group in India. They claim they have been able to identify the entire fake currency supply chain and were trying to zero in on the Bangalore associates.

The NIA team had rushed to Bangalore to catch Kana’s aides, who are involved in distributing fake currency to other parts of the country. The sources said the fake currency smuggling was active in major cities, including Bangalore.

They say that fake currency is being circulated in other parts of Karnataka too. The Bangalore operatives are also having a good network to circulate fake notes within the state. The NIA had arrested a person, Mallikarjun of Yadgir in Gulbarga, a few months ago in this connection.

City police disagree

However, the city police officials continue to stick to their claim that Nepal and Bangladesh remain the main gateways for fake currency smugglers. The Bangalore route is not too active, only a few operatives may bring money from Dubai, as it is too risky, they say.

“We have to discuss with the NIA to know how the fake currency landed in Bangalore for circulation to other parts of the country. We have to confirm whether the fake currency was smuggled to Bangalore from Dubai or the accused had given false statements before NIA officials,” a senior police officer said.

He said terrorists were smuggling in fake currency to destroy the country’s economy. The NIA sleuths have not discussed or provided any information about fake currency smuggling to Bangalore city police. “We are not aware about the NIA’s claims. We have not been informed about it by the NIA, and they will only pursue the case further,” B Dayanand, joint commissioner of police, said.