Mumbai. The NIA Special Court, Mumbai, on Wednesday sentenced two Bangladeshis to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in the Thane fake currency case. The accused have also been fined Rs. 10,000 each under Sections 489C & 489B of IPC and Section 16 of the UA(P) Act.
The accused have been identified as Abdullah Shaikdar and Najmul Hasan, both residents of Khulna, Bangladesh.
High quality counterfeit currency notes of face value of Rs. 4,08,000/- were being circulated in Maharashtra after being procured from Bangladesh in the case, originally registered by Thane City Police in 2015 on the basis of specific intelligence shared by the Anti-Narcotic Cell, Crime Branch, Thane.
NIA investigations have revealed that Shaikdar, with the help of five other accused (all residents of Khulna), was circulating the high quality Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICNs) in different parts of Thane district. Two of his accomplices, including Najmul and one Mohd Sobuj, Motur Khan were arrested.
Initially, the Police, during personal search of the accused, had seized 40 fake notes of the denomination of Rs. 1000. Subsequently, searches of their homes led to the seizure of another 364 fake notes of the same denomination, while four similar notes were seized from three witnesses in the case.
In the course of its investigation, NIA recorded the statements of witnesses, scrutinised mobile records and collected other documentary evidences to unearth the full conspiracy. A chargesheet was filed against the accused, and vigorous pursual of the trial over three years finally resulted in the conviction of two accused.
