NIA arrests 2 more accused in Bagdogra FICN case

New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested two more accused in connection with its probe into the seizure of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) in West Bengal's Bagdogra.A NIA spokesperson said that those arrested are Mohammad Baitullah and Mohammad Mukhtar, both residents of Bihar's Kishanganj.The official said that the case pertains to a conspiracy hatched by a network of individuals for the production, circulation and smuggling of high-quality FICN. The NIA registered a case on March 12 this year based on the DRI seizure of FICN with a face value of Rs 4.01 lakh from the accused persons.The NIA had earlier arrested Gulam Mortuja and Shajatur Rahman in West Bengal's Siliguri. The official said that its investigation revealed that Mortuja was part of a well-organised syndicate of FICN circulators across the nation.The spokesperson said that the syndicate had a number of agents to circulate FICN in India. "In this connection, accused Baitullah and Mukhtar were two main agents working for Mortuja for the circulation the FICN," the spokesperson said."Surveillance was mounted and these two agents located and arrested this morning after a night-long operation. Searches at their hideouts led to seizure of incriminating material and electronic evidence," the official added.
--IANS aks/tsb/bg