Patna: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted simultaneous searches at eight locations across Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal in connection with a fake Indian currency notes (FICN) smuggling case involving counterfeit notes with a face value of about Rs 2.48 lakh, IANS reported. Five of the eight locations were in Bihar — two in Aurangabad district and three in Gaya district — alongside two locations in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand and one in Malda district of West Bengal.

Source: IANS via The Rahnuma Daily

During the searches, NIA teams seized digital devices, incriminating documents, Bangladeshi currency and other material the agency considers relevant to the investigation, Town Post reported. The seized devices and documents are being examined to identify further links in the alleged network.

Source: Town Post

The case traces back to the recovery of fake Indian currency notes with a face value of Rs 2,48,500 within the jurisdiction of Madanpur police station in Aurangabad district. A case was registered there on August 15 against four accused — Surendra Kumar, Vijay Yadav, Ranjan, and Pradeep Saw, alias Pradeep Kumar Saw. The NIA re-registered the case on October 18 and took over the investigation following an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

8locations searched on Wednesday across three states
Rs 2,48,500face value of the fake notes whose recovery in Aurangabad began the case
4accused named in the original August 15 case at Madanpur police station

According to the agency, its investigation so far indicates that the accused were allegedly involved in the smuggling of fake Indian currency notes and were part of a wider network; Wednesday's searches were aimed at gathering further evidence and mapping that network. Malda, the West Bengal district where one location was searched, borders Bangladesh and has figured in earlier FICN investigations because of its proximity to cross-border smuggling routes. These are agency allegations at the investigation stage and have not been proven in court.

The raids are the agency's second FICN action in Bihar within a week: on October 30, the NIA filed a charge sheet against two accused in a separate case involving the seizure of fake notes worth Rs 50,150 in Madhubani district. The agency said further investigation into the Aurangabad-origin network is underway.