In the 2019 Malda fake currency case, two primary accused have been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment by the Kolkata special court of the National Investigation Agency.
Asim Sarkar from Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, received a 7-year sentence, while his co-accused, Aladu alias Matur from Malda, West Bengal, was sentenced to 5 years. The special court found both men guilty in the case RC-23/2019/NIA/DLI. The court also imposed fines of Rs 10,000 on Sarkar and Rs 5,000 on Matur. Failure to pay the fines will result in an additional three months of rigorous imprisonment for each.
The trial against an absconding Bangladeshi national, Abdul Rahim, continues. The case stems from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seizing high-quality fake Indian currency notes (FICNs) in September 2019.
DRI officials confiscated 99 counterfeit notes of Rs 2,000 denomination and two notes of Rs 500 denomination, totaling Rs 1,99,000 in face value, from Sarkar, who was promptly arrested. Aladu alias Matur and another accused, Faijul Sk, were later apprehended by the NIA, which took over the case in October 2019. Faijul Sk is already serving a 5-year sentence related to the same case.
The NIA’s investigation revealed that all four accused were part of a conspiracy to procure and circulate fake currency with the intention of using it as genuine for illegal profit.
