Two men intercepted for riding a motorcycle without wearing a helmet in the Maidan area of central Kolkata on Sunday were found to be in possession of fake Indian currency notes of Rs 1 lakh, police said.
“We later came to know that both men — Rinku Sheikh and Ananda Das — had earlier been arrested and convicted for dealing in fake currency notes,” an officer of the special task force of Kolkata police said.
Both accused are from Malda. They had come to Kolkata apparently to deliver a consignment of fake Indian currency notes.
The men were arrested by the special task force of the city police.
“Initially, they were intercepted for traffic rule violations and not wearing helmets. However, their suspicious movements alerted the officers, who searched their belongings. Fake currency notes of Rs 1 lakh were found on them,” said an officer of the task force.
Another officer at Lalbazar said the cops who were searching their belongings came across two certified copies of the verdicts declaring them as “convicts” in a case of smuggling of fake currency notes.
“It was found that they had been arrested and convicted in a similar case earlier,” the officer said.
Rinku and Ananda have been booked under IPC sections dealing with possession and transportation of fake currency notes.
An officer said they were trying to find out when the accused had come to Kolkata and whose bike they were riding.
“It is still not clear to whom they were going to deliver the fake notes. It appears they are carriers. The origin and destination of the consignment are yet to be ascertained,” said the officer.
Earlier, several consignments of fake currency notes from Malda were intercepted in Kolkata.