look news india
The case of recovery of Fake Indian Notes (FICN) worth ₹ 17.29 crore from the currency chest of Punjab National Bank (PNB) located in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh has shaken the entire banking and financial security system of the country. Considering the seriousness of this highly sensitive matter related to national security and economic sovereignty, on the instructions of the Home Ministry, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the case on September 3 and re-registered it.
Taking major action, the NIA team involved in the investigation has arrested the absconding main accused and the then manager of the currency chest, Amit Kumar. Now the Central Investigation Agency has expanded the scope of its investigation to many states to link the foreign connections of this network, international smuggling routes and the links of the syndicate operating through the Nepal border.
This entire fraud was exposed when a large consignment of cash was sent from the same currency chest of Saharanpur to the Jaipur chest of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
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During mechanical counting and verification of notes in Jaipur RBI, lakhs of rupees were found missing in the bundles, after which an internal inquiry was conducted.
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When physical verification and forensic audit of the old and mutilated notes kept in the Saharanpur currency chest was done, initially fake notes worth Rs 7.40 crore were found, which later on ₹17.29 crore Reached huge figures of Rs.
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On August 26, information was lodged at Sadar Bazar police station in Saharanpur and based on preliminary investigation, the bank management suspended three officers—Currency Chest Manager Amit Kumar, Senior Divisional Manager Ravi Kumar Kase and Currency Chest Manager Sushil Sharma with immediate effect.
The bank’s currency chest is the place from where cash is supplied to its branches and ATMs in many districts. The arrival of fake notes worth more than Rs 17 crore in such a secure vault cannot be a mere fraud by a clerk or at the local level. For this reason NIA is focusing the investigation on the following important international points:
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Suspicious route to Nepal border: Investigating agencies suspect that this consignment may have been smuggled through the open border of India-Nepal. A Look Out Circular (LOC) had already been issued against the three accused officers so that they could not escape across the border. Police and NIA are now investigating his mobile records, WhatsApp chats and his contacts with suspects operating in the Nepal border areas.
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High Quality Fake Indian Currency (FICN): The paper quality, watermark, security thread and ink of the recovered notes are being tested in the forensic lab. Intelligence agencies suspect that such sophisticated level of fake currency may have been pushed into India through syndicates from international printing presses supported by Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.
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Supply and Swapping Game: The NIA is trying to understand whether ‘currency swapping’ was going on inside the bank—that is, genuine government notes were being taken out and replaced by wads of fake notes of the same value being deposited in the chests.
Based on the interrogation of arrested manager Amit Kumar, the NIA team is linking the role of two other absconding bank officers and a part-time employee. The agency has taken possession of the CCTV footage of the chest, cash inflow-outflow register of the last six months, GPS records of the logistics van and transactions in the bank accounts of the accused.
Officials say that this investigation will not be limited to the arrest of bank employees only, but the network of the real mastermind and foreign syndicate supplying fake notes will be completely destroyed.