Fake Indian currency printed in security press in Karachi; Special Cell unravels Pakistan links

NEW DELHI: It has been found that Pakistan’s ISI has been printing fake Indian currency. The Special Cell of Delhi Police was able to find the Pakistani links in the smuggling of high-quality Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN). The 'Optical Variable Ink' used by India in printing Rs 2000 notes has also been used by the Pakistan operatives. The Pakistan-based crime-syndicates have copied the most exclusive security features of Rs 2,000 Indian currency notes, a feat not possible without the use of the state machinery. The ink used is of very high quality.

The notes were reportedly printed at Pakistan security press in Malir Halt, Karachi. Sources said during investigation that notes are being printed under the supervision of senior officials of Pakistan's ISI. Dawood Ibrahim's infamous D-company is one of the prominent distributors of ISI. Another security feature copied for the by ISI is the raised bleed lines printed on the left and right side of the note. These raised lines are identification marks for visually impaired people. Six months back, the fake notes seized in India did not have such hi-tech security features. In the newly seized notes, '7FK' series is printed in exploded formation.

In the first week of June this year, a huge quantity of fake notes amounting to Rs 7.67 crore was seized by Nepal police at Tribhuwan Airport in Kathmandu. Last week, a Special Cell team led by DCP Pramod Kumar Singh Kushwaha nabbed a D-company agent Aslam Ansari in Delhi and recovered FICN worth over Rs 5.50 lakh. In the first glimpse, authorities could not verify the authenticity of the Rs 2000 notes as they carried almost all the security marks.