Inter-state fake currency racket busted 2 held

Vadodara, Sep 7 (UNI) Police have arrested two youths, hailing from West Bengal, who were allegedly involved in an inter-state fake currency racket and had pumped in fake notes of Rs 500 denomination in Vadodara, Bharuch and Anand districts of Gujarat to the tune of rupees two lakh in the last 15 days.

The two members of the gang, identified as Abdul Manan Sheikh and Mohammad Nazrul Sheikh, were nabbed yesterday by sleuths of Special Operation Group (SOG) of the city police from a guest house, near Vadodara railway station, after seizure of 35 fake notes of Rs 500 denomination from their possession.

Police also seized Rs 14,000 in cash and several other documents from Abdul Manan and Md Nazrul, residents of Bagmara and Mohabatpura in Maldah district of West Bengal.

SOG sources said West Bengal police had been informed and efforts were on to nab Ikramali Sheikh, the kingpin of the racket, also a resident of the same district.

Preliminary interrogation revealed that the duo had pushed fake notes worth Rs 200,000 in the markets of Vadodara, Anand and Bharuch districts during the last 15 days of their stay through purchase of cutlery items.

Police have also initiated steps for freezing the Axis Bank account of the kingpin to which the proceeds of the racket were reportedly being credited.

The accused duo also allegedly admitted that the fake notes were procurred from Bangladesh by Ikramali, the sources said.

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