NORTH LAKHIMPUR, July 30 - The recent arrest of John Pathori, Sub-Inspector, Hatigaon PS in Guwahati along with two other cops, has unearthed the alleged link of counterfeit currency and fake gold trade of Lakhimpur�s infamous Bangalmora with the Assam Police.
John Pathori was posted as Inspector-in-Charge of Bangalmora Police Outpost in Lakhimpur earlier where the entire illegal activities were going on. Another arrested person, Bipul Hazarika, the Home Guard was also earlier posted at Bangalmora Police Outpost. It has been a well-known fact that the police in that area run this illegal trade by engaging some local petty criminals who trap some greedy customers coming from faraway places to buy counterfeit currencies and fake gold.
The Bangalmora area under Nowboicha LAC of Lakhimpur district is predominantly inhabited by the members of the religious minority community, who are very backward socially, which leads them to criminal activities. Taking advantage of their crimes and their social separation from the mainstream, the police use them to run illegal activities for their own money making. In reality, however, there is no such counterfeit and fake gold industry in that area to which so many customers have been lured. Under the protection of the police, the criminals invite the customers to this area to sell counterfeit notes and fake gold. The customers are shown the machines printing counterfeit notes, which are actually ordinary hand-made boxes, where some original notes are kept inside. These demonstrations convince the customers and they pay huge amounts of cash to double them. The sellers then take the cash and vanish from the spot leaving the buyers duped and stranded in an unknown locality. The duped customers cannot even go to the police since they know it is an illegal activity, or on some occasions if they do so, they are framed by the police. This is the formula which has been going on repeatedly in Bangalmora area for a long period of time.
Occasionally, the police do make some arrests and recover some machines of printing counterfeit notes or artefacts of fake gold in the greater Bangalmora area. But some dreaded criminals like Abu Sayed, Abdul Razzak, Nabiul, Zakir are still very active and are protected by the police. For more than 15 years, this illegal business has been active in this region where the police under Bihpuria and Laluk Police Stations and Bangalmora, Harmutty, Banderdewa and Dolahat outposts have not taken any measures to eradicate this. The local public allege that the police have been running this illicit trade in Bangalmora.
