The fake currency menace in western Uttar Pradesh is on the rise with few checks in place on the ground and the porous border with Nepal.
This has left the door open for Pakistan to flood the country with Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Top sources in the Central intelligence agencies said that in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, security agencies and border guarding forces have been told to particularly be alert to FICN networks becoming over active across the country as the security agencies busy themselves on other fronts.
Local police officials in cities of western UP like Meerut are well aware of the FICN syndicates operating from Nepal but admit that the checks on the ground prove insufficient in front of the organised network.
In Delhi, every third person has a story to tell about how fake currency in the denominations of Rs 500 and RS 1,000 are circulating with little awareness among the residents on how not to look out for them.
“After receiving the FICNs from Pakistan, it is circulated in the Indian market through various agents,” a state police official said.
The currency is sold to agents at half the value of the denomination and as it passes through hands through distributors the profit margins increase, sources said.
Intelligence officials said the ISI-sponsored syndicates are recruiting both Indian and Nepalese criminals as couriers who smuggle the FICNs to India.
The problem becomes multifold as there is corruption on both sides of the border, the official said. Local officials, who did not wish to be named, said that the financial intelligence agencies are keeping a strict watch in the run-up to the polls.
Sources said apart from Nepal, the FICN syndicates in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Dubai (UAE) have also picked up steam keeping the security agencies on their toes.
“State police forces need to pay attention to fight this economic jihad by Pakistan. By merely setting up structures are the central level is not enough,” a top security official remarked.
