A Special Court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Visakhapatnam has convicted seven individuals in a 2015 Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) case. The court has handed down sentences of simple imprisonment (SI) ranging from 7 to 10 years, along with fines, to the convicted individuals under different provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The accused, originating from Assam, West Bengal, and Karnataka, include Saddam Hossain, Roustum, Amirul Hoque, Mohammad Hakim Sheikh, Saddam Hussien, Sayed Imran, and Mohammed Akber Ali.
The fake currency scheme, which encompassed the trafficking of high-quality FICN through the India-Bangladesh border and its distribution across various parts of the country, was designed to undermine India’s financial security, as per the NIA’s investigation. Saddam Hossain from Barpeta District, Assam, has been sentenced to 10 years of SI and a fine of Rs. 5,000 under Section 16 of the UA (P) Act. He was apprehended by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Visakhapatnam in September 2015 after the seizure of high-quality FICN worth Rs. 5,01,500 at Visakhapatnam Railway Station while traveling by train.
Amirul Hoque, also from Barpeta, has received a 10-year SI sentence with a Rs. 5,000 fine (or an additional 1 year SI for non-payment) under Section 18 of the UA (P) Act. Rostum from Malda district, West Bengal, has been sentenced to 7 years of SI and a Rs. 2,000 fine under Section 20 of the UA (P) Act, with an extra 8 months of SI if the fine is not paid. Mohammed Hakim Sheik from Malda has been given an 8-year SI sentence and a Rs. 5,000 fine (or one more year of SI) under Section 18 of the UA (P) Act.
Saddam Hussein from Bengaluru district in Karnataka has been sentenced to 7 years of SI and a Rs. 2,000 fine under Section 20 of the UA (P) Act, with an additional 8 months of SI in case of default. Similar sentences have been imposed on Sayed Imran from Mandya district, Karnataka, and Md. Akbar Ali from Kamrup district (Assam). Sayed Imran is also a convict in another NIA Visakhapatnam FICN case. The NIA took over the case in December 2015 and had charged Saddam Hossain in July 2016, with supplementary chargesheets against the other six accused in 2018 and 2019.
