thesolar65
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2012
- Messages
- 4,922
- Reaction score
- -12
- Country
- Location
The government’s announcement on Tuesday night to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes is a massive blow to Kaliachawk. This border town in the West Bengal district of Malda is the ground zero of the fake currency network in India, with the counterfeit notes making their way in from Bangladesh through the border. Many residents of the town make their living from this illegal trade, mostly working as couriers. And all fake Indian currency notes, known as FICN, seized across the country are more often than not traced back to Kaliachawk.
In the days since the big currency notes were rendered illegal tender, the flourishing undercover business of counterfeit cash running into crores has come to a screeching halt overnight, unsettling hundreds of people. The border has fallen silent. There have even been rumours of currency notes being dumped in rivers and fields.
The Border Security Force, which dedicates a large amount of its time to keeping a watch on this illegal trade, is a relieved lot. But they say the business will be up and running again.
“We are looking at a time frame of one month to three months before we make the first seizure of a fresh consignment of fake Indian currency, this time most likely Rs 100 notes,” said a senior BSF officer who did not want to be identified. “That’s our feedback from across the border in Bangladesh.”
The officer said inputs suggested the government’s move to clamp down on black money had hit big dealers in counterfeit currency in the neighbouring country and several thousand couriers on either side of the border. “But the duration of a FICN-free market place is going to be short-lived,” he warned.
But for now, the border force will relish this lull. “The overall and immediate impact of the currency ban has been stunning all along the India-Bangladesh border,” said special DG RP Singh. “The Central government’s move has come as a big relief to the force engaged in these areas and particularly in districts like Malda in West Bengal.”
The BSF covers 4,096 km of the border with Bangladesh in the five states of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
Malda sector, in BSF parlance, has a border of 223 km with Bangladesh, of which about 150 km is fenced while the rest is mostly riverine, open border. The shifting sands of the Ganga create charland – raised land as a result of silt deposition – on this non-demarcated border during the winter months, while its gushing waters wipe away the border in the monsoon. The border is said to have 58 outposts and a 2,500-strong contingent of the BSF to man these.
According to security forces, the trans-border trade in fake currency is done mostly along the fenced border. Picking spots where vigil is slack, couriers from Bangladesh toss up the consignments in plastic packets for their counterparts on the Indian side to pick up.
“The movement is done in chains,” explained a security official who did not want to be identified. “From the point of origin of the consignment in Bangladesh to the destination in Kaliachawk, there would be no less than 20 to 25 couriers in each chain. Each person in the chain normally covers a distance of 100 meters to hand over the consignment to the next one in the chain. It is an intricate network and very difficult to trap and dismantle.”
https://in.news.yahoo.com/malda-indias-fake-currency-capital-033000575.html
View photos
In the days since the big currency notes were rendered illegal tender, the flourishing undercover business of counterfeit cash running into crores has come to a screeching halt overnight, unsettling hundreds of people. The border has fallen silent. There have even been rumours of currency notes being dumped in rivers and fields.
The Border Security Force, which dedicates a large amount of its time to keeping a watch on this illegal trade, is a relieved lot. But they say the business will be up and running again.
“We are looking at a time frame of one month to three months before we make the first seizure of a fresh consignment of fake Indian currency, this time most likely Rs 100 notes,” said a senior BSF officer who did not want to be identified. “That’s our feedback from across the border in Bangladesh.”
The officer said inputs suggested the government’s move to clamp down on black money had hit big dealers in counterfeit currency in the neighbouring country and several thousand couriers on either side of the border. “But the duration of a FICN-free market place is going to be short-lived,” he warned.
But for now, the border force will relish this lull. “The overall and immediate impact of the currency ban has been stunning all along the India-Bangladesh border,” said special DG RP Singh. “The Central government’s move has come as a big relief to the force engaged in these areas and particularly in districts like Malda in West Bengal.”
The BSF covers 4,096 km of the border with Bangladesh in the five states of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
Malda sector, in BSF parlance, has a border of 223 km with Bangladesh, of which about 150 km is fenced while the rest is mostly riverine, open border. The shifting sands of the Ganga create charland – raised land as a result of silt deposition – on this non-demarcated border during the winter months, while its gushing waters wipe away the border in the monsoon. The border is said to have 58 outposts and a 2,500-strong contingent of the BSF to man these.
According to security forces, the trans-border trade in fake currency is done mostly along the fenced border. Picking spots where vigil is slack, couriers from Bangladesh toss up the consignments in plastic packets for their counterparts on the Indian side to pick up.
“The movement is done in chains,” explained a security official who did not want to be identified. “From the point of origin of the consignment in Bangladesh to the destination in Kaliachawk, there would be no less than 20 to 25 couriers in each chain. Each person in the chain normally covers a distance of 100 meters to hand over the consignment to the next one in the chain. It is an intricate network and very difficult to trap and dismantle.”
https://in.news.yahoo.com/malda-indias-fake-currency-capital-033000575.html
View photos
