Two get 10 years rigorous imprisonment for running fake currency racket in Karnataka
New Delhi, Jun 26: A special NIA court in Vijayawada has sentenced two people to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for running a fake Indian currency note (FICN) racket in Karnataka and nearby locations, a senior official said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 each on Mohammed Mahaboob Baig, a resident of Mandya district in Karnataka, and Syed Imran from the same district.
The two were intercepted and arrested in April last year by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) from the Visakhapatnam railway station with FICN of face value at Rs 10.20 lakh.
The two have been sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) official said, adding that they have been charged under sections 489 (tampering with property mark with intent to cause injury) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
The NIA had filed its own case against the two based on the DRI's complaint, he said.
"It was found that the accused, along with their associates, hatched a criminal conspiracy for procuring and circulating FICN in India," an NIA spokesperson said.
"Investigation has also revealed that the two and their associates in Bengaluru and Malda (West Bengal) were active in trafficking huge quantities of FICN since 2015 and had visited Malda on many occasions and received the FICN from their associates based there," he said.
Probe found that the FICN was procured from Bangladesh via the international border between the two countries in West Bengal and was being circulated in Karnataka and other parts of the country, the spokesperson said.
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Death toll in Mundathikode fireworks explosion rises to 16
Thrissur (Kerala) (PTI): One more person who had been hospitalised following the Mundathikode fireworks explosion died at Thrissur Medical College on Sunday, police said.
With this, the death toll in the incident has risen to 16.
According to Thrissur Medical College police, the deceased has been identified as Unnikrishnan from Edappal, who was among the 38 persons present at the fireworks manufacturing unit in Mundathikode where the explosions occurred on April 21.
Police said Unnikrishnan had suffered over 80 per cent burns and had remained in critical condition.
The condition of the two other injured persons remains critical, police said.
Of the 38 persons present at the site, 16 have died, while four remain missing.
The fireworks were being manufactured for Thiruvambady Devaswom as part of the Thrissur Pooram festivities.
The licensee of the unit had also suffered burn injuries and had died earlier.
