Fake notes flood state; Malda hub

In January alone three cases were registered where all the accused were Indian nationals working for an amount as paltry as Rs 200 in return for handing over the consignments of fake notes.

“The most porous areas are Malda and Murshidabad. Manufacturing units of fake notes are located in Pakistan,Bangladesh and Singapore. There are also instances where Pakistanis use the Bangladesh border to get into Bengal to destabilise the Indian economy. The business is thriving and many earn a living from it,” said Vikas Chandra,DIG,BSF.

According to BSF,Chapainawabganj is the main hub in Bangladesh from where most of the notes come. Fake notes with a face value of Rs 7,46,700 have already been seized this year,while last year the seizure amounted to Rs 11 lakh. The reason for Malda being one of the most potent areas of fake note trade is its accessibility from Kaliachak,which is less than 10 km from the border.

BSF claimed that usually the arrested persons belong to poor families living near the border who are willing to work for any sum. “There are many villagers in border villages who have relatives and friends in Bangladesh. Sometimes women are employed to smuggle notes because we cannot frisk them thoroughly. Sometimes bundles of notes are thrown across the fence to somebody waiting this side,” said Chandra.

Meanwhile,the Bangladeshi national whom the BSF had arrested on Sunday carrying fake notes with face value of Rs 5,10,000 in Malda was handed over to Kaliachak police. He was sent in judicial custody,police said.