KOLKATA: On the direction of India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, a special team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths is reportedly travelling to Bangladesh, to probe the Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) scam which was unearthed last year. NIA is going to Dhaka to find the source of the network, which apparently operates in Pakistan and is supported by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in a bid to “destabilize the economy of India” by supplying counterfeit currency.
The FICN scam came to light amid the questioning of two Bangladeshi FICN smugglers Fatema Akhtar Aapi and her associate Sk Md Abu Taleb by the Bangladesh Police on November 26, 2021.
As the case was linked to India, the Bangladesh authorities had contacted India and shared information that they have seized FICN worth Rs 7.35 crore in the denomination of Rs 500 from Aapi, a resident of Kasba in Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh police informed India that it seized counterfeit currency worth Rs 50,000 from Aapi on November 26, 2021. Upon searching her house, the police also recovered fake currency worth Rs 7,34,50,000 in the denomination of Rs 500 notes.
Subsequently, Aapi and Taleb were arrested by the Bangladesh Police.
During the interrogation of the two accused, it was learnt that the FICN seized in Bangladesh was arranged and further shipped to Bangladesh by two Pakistani nationals— Sultan and Safi.
“It is suspected that the FICN has been printed in the neighbouring country and shipped to Bangladesh for further smuggling into India by international smugglers based in Pakistan to destabilize the economy of lndia,” the NIA FIR had mentioned.
The Bangladesh Police had registered a case under section 2S-A(B) of the Special Power Act, 1974 of Bangladesh on November 26 last year.
The NIA later said it re-registered the case based on inputs shared by the Bangladesh Police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and a thorough probe was started.
According to sources, the probing team will include NIA investigators as well as the officials of BSF and the Central Investigation Agency.
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