Baripada: In a major breakthrough, police busted a fake currency racket in Balasore district Friday by arresting one person.
It is said that the roots of the racket spread from West Bengal to Mayurbhanj via Balasore.
ASP Dinajan Nayak told a press conference here that Sheikh Jamiluddin from Basta police station limits in Balasore district was arrested while 94 counterfeit currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were seized from him.
Police made the arrest based on an investigation and leads from two college students –Tarun Kumar Jena and Dhananjay Das of Basta in Balasore, who had been caught circulating counterfeit notes in Rasgobindapur market of Mayurbhanj district January 30.
The two students were detained by the locals of Baripada town and later handed over to Rasagobindpur police.
They were trying to purchase clothes from a store in Baripada by using the fake notes. Police had then seized 16 counterfeit notes of Rs 2,000 denomination from them.
Both had earlier worked together in Chennai, Nayak said, adding Dhananjay had no link with this racket and was set free later.
After interrogation of Tarun, police raided the house of Jamiluddin at Bidyadharpur Mahala under Basta police limits Thursday and seized the counterfeit notes.
Nayak said during interrogation, Jamiluddin has admitted that he purchased 100 counterfeit notes of Rs 2,000 denomination by paying Rs 10,000 to a man in West Bengal.
Jamiluddin was produced in a court Friday. He told the police that he was working in Chennai in a company and came in contact with Isab Ali, a man from Malda district in West Bengal. In Chennai, Alli had proposed Jamiluddin to be part of the fake notes circulation rakcet.
However, the mastermind of the racket has not been arrested. Rasgobindpapur IIC Tillotama Rout said the mastermind will be arrested if the police are asked from higher-ups to go outside the state.
It is alleged that the notes racketeers are targeting college students as safe conduits to run their illegal business. PNN
