Ban on Rs 500-Rs 1000 notes: Big blow to FICN racketeers of India-Bangladesh border

The ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes by the Indian government may have inconvenienced the common man here, but security agencies claim it has given a big jolt to the flourishing Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) racket on the India-Bangladesh border.

Some villages of the Dhubri district in the Indian state of Assam adjoining the Bangladesh border have also been largely affected by the ban. The district is always in the headlines for rackets like cattle smuggling and fake currency, to name a few.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been working in India to put a curb on the flow of Fake Indian Currency Notes and to halt its use in terror funding. The NIA, which is the nodal agency in India for FICN cases, has registered 24 cases and arrested 117 people after the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

According to security experts, the ban imposed on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes will help a lot in breaking the network of FICN racket. In addition, NIA officers will now train Bangladesh Police officers for FICN detection or recovery. Both countries are expected to work in unison on several key security issues like this one.

A Border Security Force officer deployed in the Assam- Meghalaya frontier said on the condition of anonymity that this ban has not only affected the border villages of Dhubri but also some border villages of Meghalaya and West Bengal which are considered a hub of fake currency.

The officer claimed that several families of these border villages live off the fake currency business. He said the fake Indian currency 'sent here through the Bangladesh route' is distributed to the other areas of the country with the help of these villagers. In many such cases, local villagers have been arrested and this has come to light during investigation.

The officer added that strict vigil is being kept on several youths of these villages. The local unemployed youths of this area are used as couriers. The total stock of fake currency available with them will become useless after the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

As per the sources of Indian security agencies, 20-25 villages under Malda district of West Bengal are considered as fake currency centres. There are three blocks in the Kaliachak area of Malda distirct which has the highest number of fake Indian currency racket.

A fresh report prepared by the NIA states that 80 percent of fake currency pumped into the Indian economy has come from these villages of Malda district adjoining the Bangladesh border.

Since many of these bordering areas do not have barbed-wire fencing, infiltration from the neighbouring country is easier. It is being said that 60 percent of the fake Indian currency sent to India is made in Pakistan.

Just a day earlier, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said the printing press in Karachi and Peshawar will now be jobless due to demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. The minister said fake currency note has become one of the major headaches for security agencies.

The BSF official said more than 50 percent profit is given in the fake currency racket. For example, if someone sends 100,000 fake Indian currencies from the other side then he is given 44,000 taka in Bangladesh, whereas he gets 50,000 rupees in India. Again, up to 60,000 rupees are paid in India if the fake currency is of high quality.

In 2013, security agencies seized Rs 140 million worth of FICN was recovered from these bordering areas while 150 million fake notes were recovered in 2014. Security agencies also recovered about Rs 30 million worth of FICN in 2015.

A report of the National Crime Records Bureau states that from 2012 to 2014, Indian security agencies recovered Rs 1.25 billion worth of fake Indian currencies from different areas of the country and arrested 3,656 people.