Thaindian News

Kathmandu, Dec 21 (IANS) India Sunday welcomed the investigation by Nepal police that ended with the busting of a fake Indian currency racket and the arrest of one of the kingpins, a 58-year-old Pakistani with a criminal record.”We welcome the government of Nepal’s action,” the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said. “Both the countries have been cooperating to solve this problem.”

Aslam Ansari, a 58-year-old from Karachi and his 25-year-old new Indian recruit Mohammed Jehangir were arrested from a country liquor den in Nepal’s border town Birgunj Friday evening.

Police said they were caught red-handed with Rs.12 million in fake Indian currency in their possession after a tip-off by their Nepali associate, who ran a travel agency in Kathmandu to facilitate the journey and escape of carriers and kingpins.

Ansari, whose network spans major Indian metros like New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and whose aides are recruited from Bihar and the border towns in Nepal, was arrested by Delhi Police in 2003 but escaped.

During his arrest in 2003, police had said that Aslam Ansari was supplying fake currency to militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir. He was also said to have been recruiting young people from Bihar for military training in the Kashmir Valley.