Increasing seizures of fake currency notes worries police

Increasing seizures of fake currency notes worries police
NISHIT DHOLABHAI

AHMEDABAD, FEBRUARY 8: The Gujarat police are perturbed over the recurring seizures of fake currency in the state. As many as 81 such seizures including equipment like laser scanners, printers and offset machines were made last year and more than 100 people were caught. But the fakes continue to surface.

What's worse is that the fakes have become as good as the real currency. The paper quality is excellent, the colour scheme and design match the original, complete with water marks, metal thread and other features, that were long regarded as irreplaceable.

The police attribute the flood of fake currency to two factors. According to a police officer, the recent advance in printing technology has made the printing of fake notes a ``cottage industry'' for the unscrupulous. All that they need is a good scanner and some printing equipment that can be easily operated and requires very little space. The second, and more ominous, are the suspected ISI designs to create financial chaos in the country.

PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has already spoken about it and passengers coming by Samjhauta Express from Pakistan have been found carrying fake Indian currency.

Vipul Vijoy, DIG of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the state police, says there is enough evidence of ISI involvement and points out that a Pakistani diplomat was recently expelled from Kathmandu after he was caught with fake Indian currency.

Police officers say the use of good quality paper and features like water marks in many fake notes also indicated to the involvement of some agency with access to international currency technology. On December 3, 1999, when the ATS caught two men with 1,291 notes of Rs 500 denomination in Ahmedabad, it found that the fakes were printed on security paper. ``Such paper is not made in India and cannot be procured by just anyone,'' said Vipul Vijoy.

Not that the Indians in this business are not refining their techniques. Earlier this month, the police caught a man with some fake currency and seizedequipment that could be used for making water marks. This man's links with others in the state and Rajasthan are still being investigated.

Except for a few cases where the police actually seized printing equipment, the arrested men have often turned out to be pushers - the last link in the chain, who have no knowledge of the big operators. ``Most of the time the accused, during investigation, came up with some cock-and-bull story like `I found it lying on the road' or some such explanation,'' said Vipul Vijoy.