Rehennuma Tarannum:

Despite the joint efforts of the Bangladesh Bank and law enforcement agencies, fake note producers and traders have become active again at different areas of the northern region including Sirajganj, Pabna and Bogura district ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. They have chalked out plans to run brisk business deceiving the eyes of the law enforcers during the Eid by spreading fake notes through their recruited agents.

According to the sources of intelligence, fake note producers and traders have taken shelter at different district and upazila towns and even at remote border areas with a view to avert the police attention. Usually, surveillance of the intelligence forces remains less in different district and upazila towns compared to the capital city Dhaka and divisional cities. Taking the advantage, fake note traders have become reckless again at different remote areas like previous Eid times.

Symbolic photo collected from online

Abdur Rahman, a cloth trader of Bogura town said, “One or two fake notes are almost found at different big shops. Fake note users exchange the notes during huge crowd with big amount of money. Shop owners or general people face difficulties, while they come to know that they have received one or two fake notes unmindfully from someone amid other original notes. Sometime, some illiterate people, who come from villages, face high risk of police harassment as they don’t have idea how to identify the fake notes. They can’t understand the difference between original notes and fake notes. Not only that, if any poor gets fake note of Tk 500 or Tk 1000, he or she suffers from economic crisis while maintaining their households.”

Intelligence sources further revealed that, instability is prevailing among people especially in low and middle income groups due to sky high of essential goods prices. Fake note traders are working in the field taking the advantage of this instability.

Business insiders said, identifying the fake notes by general people is very difficult as those are printed so carefully and perfectly that no one can identify those as fake notes. Without fake not detector machine, identifying those fake notes is not easy by them. This is why, the use and exchange of fake notes go up indiscriminately ahead of any occasion especially two Eids like Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha.

Detective Branch of Police sources said, at least 200 fake note traders were arrested by police and RAB from different parts of the northern region in the last few years. But, most of them came out of jail obtaining bail and got engaged in same profession again. There is no visible example of providing exemplary punishment to any fake note trader in the country. As a result, the trend is not coming to end.

Primarily, an amount of one lakh fake notes is sold between Tk 20,000 and Tk 25,000 from the producer level. Then, those are sold between Tk 30,000 and Tk 35,000 at the retailer or marginal level, police said.

The Department of Counterfeit and Defunct Notes Prevention and Review Cell of the Bangladesh Bank has already issued special instructions saying that, the activities of fake note traders increase abnormally during each Eid or any big festival. At this time, the transaction of fake notes increases as the counterfeit note traders exploit the opportunity. For this reason, law enforcement agencies should be alert. They should start action in advance to resist the fake note producers and traders.

Apart from this, the central bank has also issued directives to every commercial bank for enhancing awareness against the use of fake notes. In the directive, all banks were asked to arrange for display of video footage containing the security features of original notes at every branch and important places in which people can be alert about it. The video must be displayed with the own initiative of the bank authorities for at least an hour after dusk in public places or different intersections during the holy month of Ramadan.

Abdur Rashid, Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl. SP) in Bogura told The Daily Sky that, “We have beefed up surveillance to check the fake note traders in order to stop spreading out of fake notes in the important market places. Our intelligence forces are working in this regard day and night.”

Julhaz Uddin, Officer in Charge of DB police in Sirajganj said, “Surveillance has been geared up at different mega shopping malls and markets in a bid to nab fake note traders. If we get any information, we will conduct drive instantly.”