Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad has busted an interstate counterfeit currency racket with alleged links to Bangladesh, arresting a suspected supplier, carrying a reward of Rs 25,000, in West Bengal’s Malda, officials said on Saturday.
Zakir, a resident of Thakur Das Mandalpara in Deonapur under Vaishnavnagar police station in Malda district, had been absconding in a case registered at Sarnath police station in Varanasi in November 2024 and was arrested from Malda on Friday before being brought to Varanasi for further legal proceedings and questioning.
According to an ATS statement, the agency had received intelligence that a network was procuring fake Indian currency allegedly printed in Bangladesh and supplying it to Uttar Pradesh and other states through operatives based in West Bengal.
During the investigation, the ATS arrested Mohammad Suleman Ansari and his associate Idris in Varanasi in November 2024 with counterfeit Indian currency valued at Rs 2 lakh.
During the interrogation, the two allegedly disclosed that Zakir supplied them with fake currency, which was allegedly smuggled into India from Bangladesh by another operative identified as Rafiqul, the statement said.
Based on the evidence collected during the probe, the ATS had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for information leading to Zakir’s arrest.
The officials said further interrogation is underway to identify other members of the counterfeit currency network and initiate legal action against them.
