Bihar: Nepal national sentenced to 7 yrs RI by NIA special court in fake currency case

New Delhi [India]: A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Patna has sentenced key accused in Bihar’s ‘fake Indian currency notes’ case to seven years of Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) and fined in two separate cases, officials said on Tuesday.

Abi Mohammad Ansari, hailing from Nepal’s Bara district, has been convicted and awarded 7 years RI and Rs 5000 under Section 120B of IPC, with a similar quantum of punishment and fine also awarded under sections 489B and 489C of IPC and 16, 18, 20 of UA(P) Act.

“The sentences will run concurrently,” NIA said.

He is the second accused to be convicted in the case relating to the seizure of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) in Bihar’s East Champaran. The high-quality FICN, in the denomination of Rs 500 with a total face value of Rs 25,43,000, was seized on September 30, 2015. On that day, the other convicted accused, Mohd. Ali Akhtar Ansari had come to M/s Gati Kintetsu Express Private Limited, Raxaul, to take delivery of the fake currency and was arrested.

According to NIA, during investigations, Ansari disclosed that the seized currency notes were fake and had been smuggled from a foreign country into India.

He further revealed that the consignment was assigned to be delivered to Abi Mohammad alias Nabi Mohammad of Nepal through him.

“Investigations further revealed that Syed Muhammad Shaffi, a Pakistan national residing in UAE, had couriered the parcel containing the fake currency from UAE through ICS (International Courier Service) to the arrested accused.

The consignment had been sourced from a foreign country through a complex network of FICN traffickers, NIA investigations showed,” NIA said.

The case was initially registered by DRI, Muzaffarpur, Bihar on September 24, 2015, and re-registered by NIA on March 15, 2016.

Separate chargesheets were filed against the two accused, Mohd. Ali Akhtar Ansari and Abi Mohammad Ansari, on September 21, 2016 and October 14, 2017, respectively.

Mohd Ali Akhtar Ansari was awarded 20 years RI with a fine of Rs 50,000 on July 18, 2022.