As airports come under security scanner, Professional smugglers and truck drivers get together to transport fake currency to india from neighbouring countries
As airports come under security scanner, Professional smugglers and truck drivers get together to transport fake currency to india from neighbouring countries
Corrupt police officials posted on roads leading to Nepal and Bangladesh must be cursing themselves after accepting hefty bribes from truckers.
The sum, if not all, but a lot of it, was fake. The Delhi Police now have the evidence to establish that fake currency operators have been increasingly relying on truck operators to sneak in their consignments by road due to the high alert at airports.
Gone are the days when counterfeit notes were smuggled through middlemen coming in from various countries by air.
In the first eight months of this year, the police have seized fake currency worth more than Rs 40 lakh from various parts of the city.
During interrogation of the accused, it was revealed that in most of the cases, professional smugglers brought in the fake currency through the porous borders with the help of transporters.
Senior police officials confirmed that transporters have started working as middlemen and carrying fake notes along with their regular consignments across borders.
"We have a long border with Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. As security along the Pakistan border is very tight, fake currency operators rarely use the route now," a senior police official told MiD DAY, requesting anonymity.
Citing an example, the official added: "Mohammed Umer Madani, 60, a top Lashkar operative who was arrested by the Special Cell, had come through the Nepal border carrying counterfeit currency worth Rs 50,000. He was residing in a Nepal village for 25 years and used the porous border for sneaking into India."
In one of the biggest counterfeit notes seizures this year, a woman, Rizwana, was arrested with fake currency worth Rs 18 lakh on March 18. During her interrogation, the police found that the money had come from Pakistan via Bangladesh through a transporter. For a week, the police did not reveal the arrest of Rizwana and during the period sent a team of Special Cell officers to West Bengal to arrest the transporter but he had already got the news of Rizwana's arrest and went underground.
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In this case too, Saidul had received the money from his associates in Pakistan in Malda near the Indo-Bangladesh border. "In this particular case, the money was sent by the ISI routed through the Indo-Bangladesh border. The carriers pretended to be villagers who were crossing the border on trucks. The transporters were also involved," the police official said.
Neeraj Thakur, deputy commissioner of Police (Crime), refused to comment on the matter. "In the cases we have cracked, Nepal has been established as one of the nodal points from where the counterfeits were being smuggled in. I won't say if it has become a hub or is increasingly being used these days. Also, in the cases being investigated by the crime branch, no transporters were involved."
How to tell real from the fake
Water mark
The Mahatma Gandhi series of notes contain the Mahatma Gandhi watermark with a light and shade effect. Also, there are multi-directional lines in the watermark window.
Security thread
The Rs 1,000 note introduced in October 2000 contains a readable, windowed security thread alternately visible on the obverse with the inscriptions Bharat in Hindi, 1,000 and RBI, but totally embedded on the reverse. The
Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes have a security thread with similar visible features and inscription Bharat in Hindi and RBI. When held against the light, the security thread on Rs 1000, Rs 500 and Rs 100 can be seen as one continuous line. The security thread appears to the left of the Mahatma's portrait.
Latent image
On the obverse side of Rs 1000, Rs 500, Rs 100, Rs 50 and Rs 20 notes, a vertical band on the right side of the Mahatma Gandhi's portrait contains a latent image showing the respective denominational value in numeral. The latent image is visible only when the note is held horizontally at eye level.
Micro-lettering
It contains the word RBI in Rs 5 and Rs 10 notes while those of Rs 20 and above also contain the denominational value of notes in microletters. This feature can be seen better under a magnifying glass.
Intaglio printing
The portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, the Reserve Bank seal, guarantee and promise clause, Ashoka pillar, emblem on the left and RBI governor's signature are printed in intaglio i.e. in raised prints, which can be felt by touch, in Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.
Identification mark
A special feature in intaglio has been introduced on the left of the watermark window on all notes except Rs 10. This feature is in different shapes for various denominations (Rs 20 vertical rectangle, Rs 50 square, Rs 100 triangle, Rs 500 circle and Rs 1000 diamond) and helps the visually impaired to identify the denomination.
Fluorescent ink
Number panels of the notes are printed in fluorescent ink. The notes also have optical fibres. Both can be seen when the notes are exposed to an ultra-violet lamp.
Optically variable ink
This is a new security feature incorporated in the Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes with revised colour scheme introduced in November 2000. The numerals 1000 and 500 on the obverse of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes respectively are printed in optically variable ink a colour-shifting ink. The colour of the numerals 1000 or 500 appears green when the note is held flat but would change to blue when the note is held at an angle.
See-through register
The small floral design printed both on the front (hollow) and back (filled up) of the note in the middle of the vertical band next to the watermark has an accurate back to back registration. The design will appear as one floral design when seen against the light.
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