Court awards 10 years RI to six in counterfeit note racket

Bhubaneswar, Sep 30 (UNI) A lower court in Cuttack has sentenced a former private college reader and five others to ten years rigorous imprisonment in a counterfeit note printing racket.

The court also awarded more four years in another charge and all sentences would run concurrently.

Additional District and Sessions Judge G Panigrahi yesterday held Reader Nilambar Baral along with five others, including one Tima alias Nirmal Timung of Nagaland, guilty under different sections relating to the printing of counterfeit notes.

However, the court acquitted Sandhyarani, the reader's wife, also a lecturer in the same college and four others due to lack of evidence.

According to prosecution acting on a tip off a police team raided a shed and seized a complete computerised printing unit, accessories and some counterfeit notes.

Nilambar Baral was arrested from the spot and his wife Sandhyarani was taken into custody from his house while trying to destroy the evidence.

The case was handed over to the crime branch on December one, 2001 which arrested Nirmal from Assam and others were taken into custody by the investigating agency later.

UNI