Author: Vicky Nanjappa
Publication: Rediff News
Date: October 26, 2010
URL: http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/oct/26/slide-show-1-fake-money-worth-rs-120000000000000-in-india.htm
Even as the government of India speaks of
taking preventive measures to curb the menace of fake currency, statistics
show there is nearly Rs 12,00,000 crore worth of fake currency still in circulation
in India.
While India managed to seal the fake currency's
Pakistan and Nepal route into India to a large extent, Inter Services Intelligence-sponsored
operatives have furthered their activities by shifting base to Thailand.
These elements have been pumping in fake currency
into the Indian market with help of operatives of the Dawood gang who have
a strong base in Thailand.
The key player in this racket today is Aftab
Bhakti, a D Gang operative who reports directly to Major Ali and Arshad Khan,
both top ranking ISI officers.
Bhakti grew in stature, as he had been operating
out of Thailand for nearly a decade. During his earlier stint, he coordinated
with the mafia in Thailand on behalf of the D-gang. They were primarily into
smuggling of drugs.
The D gang's network is very deep-rooted in
Thailand and there was already an existing route between this country and
Bangladesh through which drugs were being smuggled.
Earlier, all notes were being printed in
Pakistan and then transported into India through Nepal. However, the scenario
changed post the November 26 attacks on Mumbai, which prompted the ISI to
rethink its strategy.
In the current scenario, the notes are being
printed in Thailand and then local operatives pump it in to India via Bangladesh.
Intelligence Bureau officials told *rediff.com*
that they have shared information to this effect with the Central Bureau of
Investigation, which is looking into this case in India.
The IB says that the ISI is using the D gang
the same manner in which it used it to smuggle arms and ammunition just before
the 1993 blasts.
The D gang, which was actively smuggling drugs
in and out of Pakistan, were given an ultimatum by the ISI to smuggle arms
along with the drugs into India if they wanted to continue their business.
The same tactic is been used again by the ISI.
IB officials say that in the days to come
they will use more routes such as the one existing in Dubai too to transport
fake currency into India.
Experts point out that the reason why fake
currency continues to exist in India despite all the security restriction
is the meagre control the country has on the paper on which the currency is
printed.
Almost 98 per cent of the paper, which is
used to print Indian currency, is exported from European nations.
Currently India relies on 11 firms abroad
to import paper.
This means that India does not have absolute
control over the security features and are heavily reliant on these firms.
When the paper is imported, security features
such as watermark, magnetic thread and the windowed security thread already
exist.
Experts say that it is not hard for these
terror groups to get access to these notes. All they need to do is incorporate
micro lettering and the face of the father of the nation into it.
It is time for India to rethink this aspect.
Guarding the borders and other entry points will only solve 10 per cent of
the problem, as these persons will continue to innovate and create newer routes
to smuggle in fake currency.
