New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court, Mumbai, has sentenced another accused in the 2019 Mumbra fake currency case to more than three years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI), an official said on Monday.

Karnataka-based Radhakrishna Addappa has been sentenced to 3 years, 10 months of RI along with a fine of Rs 2,000, he said.

The court convicted and sentenced him after he pleaded guilty to the crime.

Investigations by NIA revealed that Addappa had handed over fake currency to a co-accused at a KSRTC Bus Stand in Chikkaballapura district in Karnataka.

The case is related to the recovery of fake Indian currency notes (FICNs) of face value of Rs 82,000 in the denomination of Rs 500 in 2019.

Addappa was among the three accused charge-sheeted by the NIA in the case in January 2020 based on various incriminatory digital and documentary evidence collated during the investigation.

Co-accused Jasim alias Wasim Salim Shaikh and Ishak Khan were earlier, in separate judgments, sentenced by the NIA Special Court to 5 years 7 months and 5 years rigorous imprisonment, respectively, along with Rs 5,000 fine each.

In a separate fake currency case in Bihar, the NIA arrested one more accused in the 2024 Champaran (Bihar) fake currency seizure case, in which four others were charge-sheeted on August 12.

Md. Fasi Uddin has been found to be directly involved in the case, involving a large syndicate with linkages in Pakistan and Nepal.

Along with the four charge-sheeted accused – Md. Nazar Saddam, Md. Waris, Md. Zakir Hushain, and Muzaffar Ahmad Wani alias Sarfaraz, Md. Fasi Uddin of Hyderabad was engaged in smuggling FICN into India with the intent to damage the country’s financial stability.

As per NIA investigations, Fasi had paid cryptocurrency to Pakistan-based Salman Muhammed in exchange for FICN. He had also accompanied the accused, Md. Nazar Saddam to Raxaul in Bihar, as well as Nepal, on several occasions in connection with the smuggling of fake notes.

The NIA has been investigating the case relating to the seizure of FICN of face value of Rs 1,95,000 since December 2024, and is continuing with its efforts to uncover the FICN syndicate’s other linkages.

–IANS

rch/uk