The Hindu : National : Fake currency found in private bank branch in Agra

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 08, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Fake currency found in private bank branch in Agra

Atiq Khan

LUCKNOW: As the total amount of fake notes in the currency chest of the SBI’s Domariaganj branch touched the Rs. 1.25-crore mark on Thursday, with the Reserve Bank of India officials still counting, counterfeit money tumbled out of a private bank’s branch in Agra.

A complaint was filed by the RBI in the Kotwali police station in Agra following the detection of Rs. 1250 in fake currency in the currency chest of the Sanjay Place branch of the ICICI Bank in Agra. The chest was examined by a team of RBI officials.

ADG, Law and Order and STF, Brij Lal said here one note of Rs. 500, seven notes of Rs. 100 and one Rs. 50 note were found to be fake.

He said the complaint was filed by a Kanpur RBI official, P.P. Singh. The total amount drawn from the ICICI Bank branch was not known to Mr. Lal.

A new team of RBI officials sorted the currency in the SBI’s Domariaganj branch. Mr. Lal said Rs. 40 lakh was counted and Rs. 25 lakh was found to be fake. Rs. 20 lakh fake currency was detected on Monday, Rs. 46.24 lakh on Tuesday, another Rs. 34 lakh fake currency was recovered on Wednesday and on Thursday an additional Rs. 25 lakh was recovered, bringing the total to Rs.1.25 crore in the branch.

CBI probe

The Uttar Pradesh government transferred the case to the Special Investigation Team (SIT). Home Secretary Mahesh Gupta told reporters that since the SIT is a specialised investigation team the cased had been given to it. The possibility of referring it to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will be considered after all facts have been ascertained by the SIT, Mr. Gupta added.

The government’s decision followed the one-day police remand of Abid alias Pandit and bank cashier Sudhakar Tripathi. Abid and Tripathi were arrested by the Special Task Force on July 29 for their alleged involvement in the racket.

Abid is learnt to have told his interrogators that he had set a target of pumping Rs. 100 crore fake currency in the eastern districts of U.P. — Rs. 60 crore had been deposited in the SBI branch.

The Reserve Bank of India had been alerted as far back as March 2007 when a letter was written by the ADG, Law and Order to the Managing Director of RBI, Lucknow Circle.

It stated that since there was a possibility of a fake currency racket flourishing in the State, the RBI should check the currency chests of the branches of nationalised banks in Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Basti, Siddhartnagar, Balrampur, Shravasti, Bahraich and Lakhimpur Kheri districts, which border Nepal.

As the RBI did not respond to the request, a second letter was sent by the ADG, Law and Order to the Regional Director, RBI, Lucknow Circle, T.P.S. Rathore on July 30, 2008 , immediately after the arrest of four persons in Lucknow on July 25 and Pandit and Tripathi on July 29, 2008.

This time, the RBI responded swiftly.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National