NCB officer Sameer Wankhede counters Nawab Malik, says fake notes allegations baseless

Mumbai, Nov 10: Narcotics Control Bureau Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede had denied latest allegations made by Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik stating that the face value of counterfeit notes seized in 2017 was around 10 lakh and not 14 crore and three people were arrested in connection with the case.

"Nawab Malik's allegations are baseless. The face value of counterfeit notes seized in 2017 was around 10 lakh not around 14 crore. 3 persons were arrested in the matter. At that time DRI had approached NIA to probe the matter, but NIA did not take over the case," news agency ANI quotes Wankhede as saying.

His response comes after Nawab Malik alleged that counterfeit notes were being seized across the country after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation, but no such cases were filed in Maharashtra.

"With the blessings of Fadnavis, the game of counterfeit notes started in Maharashtra. After demonetisation was declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and counterfeit notes were being caught across the country but till October 8, 2017, no case was registered in as the game of counterfeit notes was going on in Maharashtra under Devendra Fadnavis," said Malik.

He further stated that on October 8, 2017, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) conducted raids at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in which counterfeit notes with a face value of 14.56 crores were seized but Devendra Fadnavis had helped suppress this matter.