Agency accuses Pakistan of being the ‘main source’ of pushing in illegal currency

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said “high quality” fake currency notes have “resurfaced”, with Pakistan being the “main source”.

One of the reasons cited by the Government in 2016, when it scrapped the ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes, was to wipe out fake currency notes in circulation.

On Monday, at the national conference of chiefs of anti-terror squads of State police, NIA Inspector General Alok Mittal shared a presentation where he said Pakistan was the main source of printing of high quality fake Indian currency notes (FICN). He made the presentation in presence of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

Major challenge

The circulation of high quality FICN was one of the six major emerging challenges cited by the NIA at the meeting. The others listed by the agency are increase in Khalistani activities, collection of evidence from cyber space and capacity enhancement of cyber forensic labs.

The NIA is the nodal agency for FICN related cases and has so far investigated 48 such cases, of which 13 ended in conviction.

Mr. Mittal added that the high quality notes were being pushed through the “western border and Nepal.” Bangladesh had emerged as the source of low quality FICNs, the IG said.

On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the old notes were being scrapped and new notes were being introduced to weed out black money and eventually eradicate corruption.

Over ₹50 crore in fake currency notes have been seizedin the past three years, the government had informed the Lok Sabha in June.

JMB cells

NIA Director General Y.C. Modi said a list of 125 suspects of the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has been shared with different States and the terror outfit has spread its activities in states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. He said since 2007, JMB cadres have been coming to India in the guise of Bangladeshi immigrants seeking shelter.

“The NIA has shared with states concerned a list of 125 suspected activists who have close links with the JMB leadership,” Mr. Modi said.

Mr. Mittal said from the years 2014 to 2018, the JMB has set up 20-22 hideouts in Bangalore and tried to spread its base in South India. He said the outfit spread its influence first in Assam and West Bengal between the years 2008 and 2014. It planned to form the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India in 2017, he said.

“The JMB even conducted a trial of rocket launchers in the Krishnagiri hills along the Karnataka border...the JMB was keen to attack Buddhists temples to take revenge for the plight of Rohingiya Muslims in Myanmar,” Mr. Mittal said.