With the Income Tax Department tightening the noose around black money hoarders, it is believed that many Indians could be sending their black money in new notes to Bangladesh to escape the I-T net.
According to a Times of India report, the possible modus operandi caught the attention of Indian security agencies after the Border Security Force (BSF) on Thursday seized Rs 29.70 lakh in new Rs 2,000 notes from two people at Nokchi in West Garo Hills District in Meghalaya. Nokchi borders Bangladesh.
The seized money, which belonged to an Indian cloth merchant, was mean to be delivered to one coal exporter at Gasuapara in Meghalaya – the export hub of coal from where huge quantities of coal are sent to Bangladesh through international trade on an annual basis.
The seizure has raised strong doubts that money was meant for smuggling into Bangladesh through coal consignments for a safe keep.
“The porous India-Bangladesh border is a known conduit for entry of fake Indian currency notes (FICN) by some Bangladeshi racketeers who are also involved in smuggling of cattle from India. The reverse flow is possible and Indians could be sending their black money to Bangladesh through the same racketeers,” Times of India quoted a source as saying.
The report also cited a BSF spokesperson saying that the personnel carried out an operation on Hill Road and arrested two Indian nationals – Nasib Miya (23) and Bilal Hussain (22) – both residents of Pubergram village at Mankachar in Assam along with the notes.
“The apprehended people revealed that the seized currency belongs to one Sanjay Agarwal, a cloth merchant of Mankachar, and the consignment of money was to be handed over to one coal exporter, Lophu Sangma of Balaji Coal export company of Gasuapara,” the spokesperson said.
“There are 1485 new Rs 2000 notes and other smaller denomination notes amounting to Rs. 3,205,” he added.
Moreover, one PAN card, one voter ID, two driving licenses, one mobile with two Indian SIM cards and one motor cycle were also seized from them.
