In a first, cops seize fake currency notes printed by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh
Sukma (PTI): Security forces have for the first time recovered a huge cache of fake currency notes belonging to Naxalites and equipment used to print them in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, a senior police official said on Sunday.
According to the police, Naxalites were allegedly using the fake currency notes in weekly markets of interior areas of Bastar region for a long time and duping innocent tribals.
Naxalites were also trying to destabilise the Indian economy with this move, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran G Chavan claimed.
The recovery was made on Saturday evening on a forested hill near Korajguda village of the district when a joint team of security personnel from various forces was out on a search operation, he said, without specifying the exact face value of the fake currency.
"For the first time, fake currency notes belonging to Naxalites have been recovered in the state which has been struggling with the menace for more than three decades," Chavan said terming the seizure as a crucial success in the anti-Naxal operation.
Personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force's 50th battalion, District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters and district force were involved in the operation which was launched based on inputs that Konta area committee of Naxalites was engaged in printing fake notes in Mailasur, Korajguda and Danteshpuram areas of Sukma, he said.
On sensing the presence of security personnel near Korajguda, Naxalites escaped into a dense forest leaving behind their belongings, the official said.
During a search of the site, the security personnel recovered a cache of fake notes in the denominations of Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 200 and Rs 500, a coloured printing machine, a black and white printer, an inverter machine, 200 bottles of ink, four cartridges of printer machine, nine printer rollers, six wireless sets, its charger and batteries, he said.
Two muzzle loading guns, a huge cache of explosives, other materials and Naxal 'uniforms' were also seized, Chavan said.
"Prima facie it was found that Naxalites were engaged in printing fake notes in huge quantities. Further investigation suggested that in 2022, Naxalites in west Bastar division area gave training of printing fake notes to one or two members of each of their area committees," he said.
The continuous anti-Naxal operations have choked the funding chain of ultras, he said.
"Under pressure and due to shortage of funds, Naxalites have been trying to use fake notes for procurement of various items in the weekly markets of the region's interior pockets and duping local tribal vendors," he said.
Further investigation in this connection is underway, he added.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
