Alipurduar: A young man was arrested in Jaigaon on Sunday night for allegedly attempting to purchase a mobile phone using counterfeit Bhutanese currency. Jaigaon police recovered fake Bhutanese Ngultrum worth Rs 1.2 lakh from the accused.
The arrested individual, identified as Kalyan Roy, is a resident of Bara Daldali in the Kumargram block of Alipurduar district. Around 9:30 pm, Roy was apprehended at a mobile phone shop in Bhagat Singh Nagar, Jaigaon, after he allegedly paid for a new phone with fake Bhutanese notes.
Suspecting the authenticity of the currency, the shopkeeper immediately alerted Jaigaon police. Upon reaching the spot, police searched Roy and recovered fake notes amounting to 1.2 lakh Ngultrum, all in denominations of Rs 500.
On Monday, police produced Roy before the Alipurduar district court and sought a seven-day remand for further investigation. Speaking on the incident, District Superintendent of Police Y Raghuvamshi said: “An investigation has been initiated to determine whether the accused has links to any international counterfeit currency smuggling racket.”