Mohabatpur, with its green fields and mud houses, is no different from any other village in West Bengal, except for one thing. The village, located on the border with Bangladesh in Malda district, has gained notoriety as the entry point of fake Indian currency.
Nearly half the village’s population lives by a fence that separates it from the neighbouring Bangladeshi village of Jaminpur. Many are cajoled into smuggling fake currency consignments.
“Those living on the zero-line (in Bangladesh) are tapped by the smuggling network to throw the fake currency bundles over the fence. Others are alerted via mobile phones to collect the consignments,” says a senior BSF official. The consignments then go to Kaliachak town, about 30 minutes drive from Mohabatpur, and are dispatched to other parts of the country. Most of the fake currency is in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
According to Kalyan Mukhopadhyay, Superintendent of Police (Malda), Kaliachak plays a vital role in circulation of fake currency because of its proximity to the railway network and the presence of a large number of migrants, many of whom work as masons across India.