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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) secured its first conviction of 2025 as the Special NIA Court, Mumbai sentenced four individuals to five years of imprisonment in a case related to the possession of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), according to a press release.
The verdict was delivered on Wednesday, marking a significant milestone for the agency in the ongoing fight against counterfeit currency. The case was initially registered by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Nagpur, on January 16, 2020. Authorities seized fake currency with a face value of Rs 13,67,500 and arrested four accused. Subsequently, the NIA took over the case, re-registering it as RC-02/2020/NIA/MUM on February 10, 2020. After a thorough investigation, the NIA filed a chargesheet on April 7, 2020, naming four arrested individuals--Lalu Khan, Mahesh Bagwan, Randheer Singh Thakur, and Ritesh Raghuwanshi--as accused. A fifth individual, identified as Sohrab Hosen from Malda, West Bengal, was declared wanted. During subsequent investigations, the NIA apprehended the absconding accused, Sohrab Hosen, on June 29, 2020. Hosen was later found to be involved in smuggling FICNs and Phensedyl cough syrup across the Indo-Bangladesh border. A supplementary chargesheet was filed against him on September 24, 2020. However, Hosen passed away while in custody at Lucknow Prison, the release said. The four accused pleaded guilty to the charges in the Special NIA Court, Mumbai. The court sentenced each of them to five years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 each. Earlier, the NIA arrested Md Amir alias Sonu of North 24 Pargana district an absconding accused relating to the mob attack on Bharatiya Janata Party leader Priyangu Pandey in West Bengal. Priyangu Pandey and his entourage were attacked near gate No 3 of Anglo Indian Jute Mill staff quarter Bhatpara in West Bengal on August 28, 2024. Two people including the driver suffered gunshot injuries. (ANI)
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