Bhubaneswar, Sept 4: Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday busted a fake currency printing racket operating out of a madrasa in Prayagraj. During the raid, police arrested four individuals, including an Odia youth and seized fake currency notes. Among those acting principal of the madrasa has also been arrested.
The accused have been identified as Abdul Jahir, also known as Jahir Khan, from Bhadrak district in Odisha, along with acting principal Mohammad Tafseerul Arifeen (25), and Mohammad Afzal and Mohammad Shahid. The arrests came after a raid by the Civil Lines police on August 28 at the Jamia Habibiya madrasa in the Attarsuiya area, which was allegedly being used as the base for the operation.
According to the report, Jahir had previously visited the madrasa four years ago. He had rented a room where he and his accomplices were allegedly involved in scanning and printing fake 100-rupee notes, which they then circulated in the local market. Jahir was reportedly paying Rs 100 for every set of three fake 100-rupee notes. The madrasa principal, Arifeen, is also said to be from Odisha and had rented the room to Jahir in exchange for a share of the profits.
The gang had been operating from the madrasa for the past three to four months. During the raid, police seized around 1,300 fake 100-rupee notes, along with other incriminating items.
“A case has been registered, and the accused have been charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The Uttar Pradesh Police are expected to conduct further raids at locations linked to Jahir. "Police will soon file a petition in court seeking the remand of the arrested suspects for further interrogation," said Deputy Commissioner of Police City Deepak Bhuker.
Additionally, police found a book titled "RSS: The Biggest Terrorist Organization in the Country" by SM Musharraf at the madrasa. It is suspected that the madrasa's cleric, Mohammad Tafseerul Arifeen, was using this book to promote anti-RSS sentiments among the children.
