CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
NEW DELHI,27th April, 2004
CBI UNEARTHS RACKET INVOLVED IN PRINTING OF FAKE STAMP PAPERS, ARRESTS NINE PERSONS:
CBI has unearthed a big racket involved in counterfeiting and circulation of fake stamp papers and other government securities. In this connection, the investigating agency has arrested nine persons; four from West Bengal and Five from Bihar for their involvement in this racket. CBI on the basis of source information arrested four persons from various parts of Kolkata and other places in West Bengal on 24.4.04. During course of searches conducted, non-judicial stamp papers amounting to about Rs. 25 lakh was recovered from these persons. Besides, Kisan Vikas Patra worth Rs. seven lakh, court fee stamp worth Rs. 57,560/-, NSC worth Rs. 5,000/-, Bank draft leaves of Punjab & Sind Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India and postal stamps and judicial stamp papers were also recovered. Basing on the information provided by the arrested persons, searches were conducted at an offset printing press where two offset printing machines worth about Rs. 20 lakh were seized. The machines were being used to print counterfeit non-judicial stamp papers and other govt. securities.
The other items seized were printing blocks relating to Indian Railways for printing of monthly railway tickets/passes, ponographic printed material, negatives of court fee stamps, Indian non-judicial stamp of Rs. 5,000/-; blank negatives; rubber stamp imprinted as OD, number punching machine and several containers of printing ink. It is suspected that the fake securities were printed in this press which were being circulated through these arrested persons in different parts of the country. Three separate cases have been registered in this connection. Further investigation is continuing.