Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The Assam government is ready to tackle the circulation of fake notes in the state with an iron fist. Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma took the issue seriously.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika said this on the floor of the Assembly today while responding to a call-attention notice raised by Leader of Opposition Wazed Ali Choudhury. The leader of the opposition said, "In Guwahati, authorities recovered lakhs of fake notes in the recent past. This incident is not a general crime. It's a well-organised network. One of the arrested accused claimed that fake notes with a face value of Rs 100 crore are in circulation in Guwahati. Fake notes have a dampening effect on the economy of the country. If fake notes with a face value of Rs 100 crore are in reality in circulation in Guwahati, the government should conduct a high-level inquiry and root out the network. Nowadays, fake notes are printed locally, let alone fake notes that come from across the border. Regardless of who the perpetrators are, they should receive exemplary punishment.
On behalf of the Home Minister, Minister Pijush Hazarika said, "Dispur police arrested two groups on June 30 and July 1, leading to the recovery of fake notes with a face value of Rs 13.41 lakh, besides other materials. The recovered fake notes are of the worst quality. Even with a touch, one can detect them as fake ones. In the first case, the police arrested Anuj Gupta, Resab Gupta and Mohit Shukla of Uttar Pradesh with fake notes. During interrogation, the trio admitted before the police that they had come to Assam to buy golden boats (sunar nao) from Bongalmara. That boats are made of fake gold is a well-known fact. The irony is that the trio came to Assam with fake notes to buy fake golden boats. It's a case of fraudsters forging fraud."
The minister said, "In the second case, the police arrested Debojit Deuri and Ajay Biswakarma and recovered fake notes with a face value of Rs 2.56 lakh." He said that the duo revealed before the police the names of several individuals of the Lakhimpur district who are involved in fake note circulation. The minister also stated that a fake note racket is active at Bongalmara, accompanied by fake police escorts, pilot cars, DSNG vans, fake AK-47 rifles, etc.
The minister further said, "The chief minister is very serious on the issue of fake notes. He stated that the government would take a firm stance against the circulation of fake notes. We need to root out the fake note racket in the state."
On the issue of circulation of Rs 100 crore (face value) fake notes in Guwahati, the minister said that one of the accused said this before the media, not before the police during interrogation.
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