Nepal Police arrest smugglers of fake Indian currency

Kathmandu, Aug 10 (UNI) Nepalese Police have arrested four people and busted a major racket in smuggling counterfeit Indian currency in the city and in various bordering Indian towns, media reports here said.

Police had arrested Bijaya Shrivastav, Randhir Kumar Gupta alias Pappu, Aftab Alam, and Lal Mohammad in connection with smuggling fake Indian currency, the local newspaper Kantipur quoted Metropolitan Police Chief Upendra Kant Aryal, as saying.

The newspaper added that police had also filed a case against Gyan Prasad Acharya, the proprietor of Handshake Travel in Thamel, for his role as an accomplice in the racket.

''Two other people involved in the racket---Upendra Chaudhari and Nawa Raj Pandey--are still at large,'' police said adding that the arrested Lal Mohammad was also a mastermind behind the murder of Balaram Patuwa, who was shot dead by his own accomplices for his alleged involvement in providing information to police and causing seizure of 1.5 million fake Indian currency in Bangladesh.

Mr Aryal said, ''the arrested were involved in supplying counterfeit currency in Kathmandu valley and 20 other districts, where Indian currency is easily accepted.'' The arrested had confessed that they paid Nepali Rupees 320,000 to buy Rs 500,000 counterfeit Indian currency in Thailand and Malaysia, he added.

''Pakistani nationals were involved both directly and indirectly in smuggling counterfeit Indian currency,'' Kantipur quoted the police official, as saying.

The groups were using Pakistan, UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as transit points to supply the currency in the Nepali market, besides various bordering Indian towns, Superintendent of Police Devendra Subedi was quoted, as saying.

Mr Subedi informed that fake currency was supplied in the market through casinos, money exchange centres and businesses run by the members associated with this organised network.

''The currency, which possesses all ultraviolet features, look genuine. It is difficult even for experienced people to distinguish whether the currency is counterfeit," he added.

UNI