Two SP leaders among 10 held in UP’s Kushinagar for smuggling fake currency, arms

The SP’s district unit accused the police of falsely implicating its leaders to tarnish the party’s image and demanded a detailed inquiry into the matter.

Those arrested include Mohammd Rafiq Khan, alias Babloo Khan, national secretary of the Samajwadi Party’s Lohia Vahini, and Naushad Khan, the state general secretary of the party’s cultural wing. Both are residents of Kushinagar.

The other suspects taken into custody are Mohammad Rafiq Ansari, Aurangzeb, alias Laden, Sheikh Jamalludin, Nizammudin, alias Munna, Rehan Khan, alias Saddam, Hasim Khan, Sheraz, and Parvez Illahi, alias Kausar Afridi.

The police said they are also probing the role of Jitendra Yadav of Bihar, Manish Kumar Singh, alias Chottu, Kamruddin, and an unidentified person, in connection with the case.

Kushinagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Santosh Kumar Mishra said the investigation into the matter is on.

According to the police, they received information about a gang involved in smuggling of counterfeit currency and illegal arms on the India-Nepal border. The police stations on the border and the district cyber cell were put on alert, the officials said.

Acting on a tip-off, the police initially nabbed three suspects, leading to the subsequent arrest of seven more accused, it is learnt.

The police claimed to have recovered counterfeit Indian currency to the tune of Rs 5.62 lakh, 3,000 in Nepali rupee, 10 country-made weapons, cartridges, a country-made bomb, 13 cellphones, eight laptops, two cars, Aadhaar cards, and SIM cards from the suspects.

They also seized Rs 1.10 lakh in bonafide Indian currency, which the gang obtained in exchange for counterfeit notes, it was claimed.

Mohammad Rafiq Ansari is the gang leader, and is facing 11 cases already, the police said. Aurangzeb and Parvez have eight cases each, while four cases each are registered against Naushad and Sheikh Jamalludin, they said.

The investigators said that it was found during the probe that the racket operated across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and its members used weapons to threaten people for land-grabbing.

The police claimed to have gathered evidence that many of the accused frequently travelled to Nepal, where they sourced the counterfeit currency from.

The Uttar Pradesh Gangsters Act will be invoked against the accused, an official said.

Meanwhile, SP’s Kushinagar district president Mohammad Shukrullah Ansari alleged that the police falsely implicated Rafiq Khan and Naushad Khan to tarnish the party’s image. “We demand a detailed inquiry into the matter. I have informed the party leadership in Lucknow about the development,” he said.