The illegal trade of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICNs) continues unabated in Uttar Pradesh, especially in districts bordering the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal.
Since 2008, over Rs 9.5 crore in illegal tender have been seized in the state and 595 first information reports (FIRs) registered in these cases, which include incidence of fake currency found in automated teller machines (ATMs) of different banks.
The Uttar Pradesh Assembly was on Monday informed by the state government that a total of 755 persons have been arrested by the police in these cases.
Besides, instances have also come to light wherein FICNs were deposited in banks. The number of such cases in 2010 and 2011 (till June 30) stood at 83 and 4, respectively.
In his starred question, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Shyam Dev Rai Chaudhari had asked the government if there was a spurt in the illegal trade of FICNs in the state, since fake tenders had been detected in banks and ATMs.
In its reply, the government maintained that according to available statistics, it could not be suggested that such illegal trade was proliferating in Uttar Pradesh.
The government had instituted a state-level committee under the UP director general of Police for controlling the menace of FICN and to coordinate actions against offenders.
Besides, district-level committees have been formed under respective district magistrates, where such instances were more frequent.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Pramod Tiwari said economic offences were acts of crime against the state and the guilty be booked under National Security Act .
The government said it was serious towards the issue and ‘special campaigns’ have yielded positive results.
