Fake Indian currency of Rs.10 mn seized in Nepal, six arrested

Kathmandu: In a crackdown on circulation of fake Indian currency in Nepal, police here on Friday said they have arrested six people, including a Pakistani national, for possessing fake Indian currency notes with a face value of Rs.10 million.

The six -- one Pakistani and five Nepali nationals -- were arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police and paraded before media at a press conference here.

According to police, one of them has been identified as Mahammad Nadim (PP number CD 9458742, Karachi) who was arrested from Thamel area of Kathmandu.

Similarly, five Nepali nationals -- Umadevi Pandey, Ishowari Prasad Teli, Parmandna Yadav, Dil Bahadur Thapa and Mahadev Timilsina -- were arrested from various locations of Kathmandu. They were held while travelling to Kathmandu to receive the fake Indian currency notes.

All the Nepali nationals hail from districts close to the Nepal-India border.

After receiving the fake notes from Nadim and Mahadev, they were planning to sneak into India for circulating the counterfeit currency, police said.

Using the open Nepal-India border, counterfeiters smuggle fake notes to India from the Nepali side and in most cases Nepalis, Indians and Pakistanis were found involved.

Circulation of fake Indian notes using Nepal's territory is a top Indian security concern.