The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet against an accused in the 2019 Surat Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) case.
The central anti-terror probe agency charged Abdul Gaffar, alias Gaffarbhai, a resident of Bihar’s Katihar, for being involved in a criminal conspiracy, along with several others, for the circulation and distribution of fake currency in Gujarat.
Gaffar had been on the run since 2019 and was arrested on February 22, 2024, in Ahmedabad, the agency said.
Besides working as an agent for various fake currency smugglers in the current case, Gaffar was also convicted in two previous cases of fake currency trafficking, according to officials.
He was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a penalty by an Economic Offences Court in Muzaffarpur in 2015. Upon his release, Gaffar got involved in the present case, the agency said.
WHAT IS THE CASE
In June 2019, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Surat had arrested one Vinod Nishad from the Surat Railway Station with fake currencies worth Rs. 2,00,000 in Rs. 2,000 denominations. The receiver, Mahefuz Shaikh, was also arrested later.
The case was later handed over to the NIA considering the national security ramifications. The NIA filed its first chargesheet in the case in 2019, and Vinod Nishad and Mohammad Mahefuz Shaikh were subsequently convicted to 7 years of imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000 each in 2022.
However, Abdul Gaffar had continued to abscond until his arrest three months ago.
According to NIA investigations, Abdul Gaffar had purchased Rs 2,00,000 worth of fake currency from one Hafeez, alias Malda, and sold it to Vinod Nishad in exchange for Rs 88,000 in genuine currency. The fake currency then reached Mohammad Mahefuz Shaikh for circulation among the general public of Gujarat.
Investigations to trace other absconding accused are in progress.