Faking it

Ajay Kumar Shukla
Of late, Uttar Pradesh seems to have become a hub for fake currency notes. In fact, dealing in fake currency has become a lucrative ‘business’ in districts situated on the Uttar Pradesh side of the porous India-Nepal border. According to UP police statistics, the racket has been on for quite some time, with nearly 300 cases registered in 70 districts last year. However, the government sprung into real action only after Opposition members created a ruckus in the recently concluded Vidhan Sabha session, alleging the involvement of senior police and bank officers. Alas, as has been the case earlier, only the small fish — the agents and sub-agents — have been arrested till now. Most of them are unemployed youth being used as couriers.Fake currency notes entering the country from the Pakistan side of the border was nothing new for intelligence agencies, but the opening of a new window — Nepal — as well as the alleged involvement of bank and police officers has sent law enforcement agencies into a tizzy. A raid on the country’s leading public sector bank, State Bank of India’s Domariaganj branch, yielded fake currency notes worth Rs 1.70 crore in the chest of the branch. According to the UP special task force, the seized currency was printed in Pakistan and entered the country through Kathmandu and Dhaka.The enormity of the racket and its impact on the country’s economy and security has prompted the Reserve Bank of India to announce withdrawal of some series of currency notes with effect from Januuary 2009. However, these measures will only take care of the symptoms of a larger malaise affecting these economically backward districts, where a large number of unemployed youth are being lured into anti-social activities with the prospect of making a fast buck. While these boys get caught and lose their ‘livelihood’, the corrupt big fish go scot free.