Fake currency kingpin arrested from Malda

Police have arrested the kingpin of a fake currency racket from Malda. A team of senior police officers from the district conducted raids on the basis of specific information received from the Indo-Bangladesh border area late on Tuesday night. They arrested one Jenarul Islam, alias Kallu Seikh, a Bangladeshi national who is believed to have master-minded various incidents of smuggling that have taken place in various parts of Malda and other districts as well, especially in areas close to the border.

Police had prior information that Kallu might visit the place and the investigating officers planned accordingly. Police came to know during the interrogation that Kallu, a resident of Nababgunge area, had been involved in a number of smuggling incidents. Police also suspect that he had been operating from the state. In the past few months police have arrested some persons for their alleged involvement in the smuggling of fake currency notes. After interrogating the accused, police came to know the name of the Bangladeshi national who had been controlling the smugglers.

He told the police in the face of interrogation that he had come to the country to see how his business was progressing in the area. Police also came to know after interrogating the accused that he had held meetings with some other persons in Kolkata. Police were trying to know the names of the other persons involved in the fake currency racket.

The NIA, along with Bengal Police, arrested two persons from a hotel near Malda Railway Station on the charge of stocking fake Indian currency notes in March this year. Police recovered Rs 3.98 lakh in fake currency, all of which were in denominations of Rs 2,000, from the accused. Both were residents of English Bazar. Police came to know after interrogating the accused that some kingpin might have been operating the racket from Bangladesh and that he has been paying visits to this country at regular intervals.