one person known as Rao Sahab is the conduit to supply fake notes from Nepal.

Silchar police produced all the four accused before the CJM Court of Honorable Satyajit Khound who after perusal of the case diary granted them bail, taking serious exception of the inertia and ineptness of the police in handling a serious case. They were booked under section 489 (C) of IPC vide case no.1480/08 which is bailable. High police officials were summoned by the learned CJM for the faux pas. The police officials realized the mistake committed by their junior staff and sought time for rectification and submission of a review petition.

The irresponsible action on the part of the police created furores in legal circles. A 15 member delegation of All India Lawyers’ Union led by Suraj Prasad Koiri met the SP Violet Baruah, submitted memorandum to her, expressing their resentment at the deliberate omission and commission of police and called for a proper investigation of the case. The SP failed to give any satisfactory explanation, pointed out leading advocate I U Bulbul, one of the members of the Union.

Advocate Imad Uddin Bulbul said the crime committed by the accused was so heinous which amounted to conspiracy against the country to cripple its economy which invited section 489 (B) of IPC, a non-bailable offence. The army which did all the hard spade work was most shocked because their FIR with police clearly mentioned that the accused “were caught red-handed while transacting the counterfeit currency”. The advocate pointed out it was a case that also attracted section 120 (B) of IPC, considering the magnitude of the crime.

He remembers a similar case not too long  ago when CRPF nabbed some persons dealing in fake currency notes and handed them over  to Lala police in the district of Hailakandi, the police in that innocuous corner  of Barak Valley were intelligent enough to book them under section 489 (B) of IPC. The kingpin of that racket who was evading arrest was ultimately located and in a fierce encounter with the joint team of police and CRPF was gunned down.

The legal circles are bemused with the role of the Silchar police official and even speculated if there was any clandestine deal to facilitate the bail of the four accused. After much heat and dust, the police in its revised petition before the CJM prayed for correction and insertion of section 489 (B) of IPC. The learned CJM Satyajit Khound allowed the petition and ordered for the rearrest of all the accused who were freed through bail. Subarna Burman and Jamir Uddin Mazumdar after getting bailers, were freed. Burman and Mazumdar were rearrested by the police.

Though details about their grilling by the police are being kept confidential, disturbing aspects of the entire shady trade in fake currency notes have come out. Subarna Burman is a bank official who was transferred from Haflong SBI branch to Shillong when he was caught in the net by the police. His involvement raises the relevant question as to whether he is a part of the racket. Jamir Uddin Mazumdar, a petty shop owner, hails from Sonabarighat, near this town. Rituraj Bora is a resident of Narangi and deals in building materials. Thudyeltihin Tamang is a Nepali citizen, based in Siliguri, who acts as courier to transact fake currency notes. The police has to look into the possible angle of the involvement of  ISI of Pakistan about which prima facie and even concrete evidence are available since its sinister design is to paralyse the Indian economy. The Reserve Bank of India has admitted that the volume of fake currency notes in circulation is somewhere around Rs.12000 crores.

Jyoti Lal Chowdhury