Odisha STF to send seized Rs 41L fake notes to BRBNMPL for examination; info to be shared with NIA

The Special Task Force (STF) on Sunday revealed that Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of face value worth more than Rs 41.16 lakh had been seized following a raid in Sonepur on September 1.

Acting on a tip-off, the STF officials made the seizure and also arrested one accused Deepak Meher in this connection. Preliminary investigation revealed that the seized FICN are of the denominations of Rs 500 and meet many security features of a genuine note. The seized fake notes will be sent to Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudrana Pvt. Ltd (BRBNMPL) West Bengal for examination and opinion.

STF will add UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) sections after getting an official forensic report as to whether these notes are of high quality or not, officials said.

"It is suspected that these notes were brought from Chhattisgarh. There are more criminals involved in this racket. STF has got the vital clues and working on it to crack the entire scam and arrest all the perpetrators," STF said in a release.

According to senior STF officials, FICN of face value more than Rs 1.19 Crores including this seizure have been seized so far.

Usually, the offences related to counterfeit/ fake currency notes were added to Indian penal Code (Sections 489A to 489 D & E) in 1943. The offences related to the counterfeiting of currency notes also come under the scheduled offences in NIA Act, 2008.

"NIA is also the nodal authority for FICN matters in India. After the amendment of UAPA Act (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) in 2013, dealing with High quality FICN has been categorized as a “Terrorist act” if the value of seized notes is more than Rs one lakh and matches some other conditions," said STF officials