Life has come to standstill in India’s counterfeit capital

KOLKATA: While people in the rest of the country are queuing up outside banks for cash, there is an eerie calm in Kaliachak in Madla district. Following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, life has virtually come to standstill in India’s counterfeit capital.
Figures reveal how large is the fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) business in the area. This year, district police seized Rs 1.14 crore in fake currency. In the last two years, 180 cases of FICN have been lodged at the local police station and 240 people, mainly couriers, arrested.
Apart from West Bengal Police, national agencies too are investigating the FICN cases. The Border Security Force has seized FICN of Rs 1.35 crore in last 10 months while Rs 2.5 crore in FICN was seized in 2015.
Apart from the CBI and the NIA, the Enforcement Directorate is investigating 44 cases of FICN in which money was laundered to foreign countries to fund terror activities in India.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/life-has-come-to-standstill-in-indias-counterfeit-capital/articleshow/55406694.cms