NORTH LAKHIMPUR, Nov 20 - The infamous fake gold and counterfeiting of bank notes, which had been flourishing in the greater Bangalmora area of Lakhimpur district, has reared its ugly head again, proven by the arrest of six persons in this month so far.
Bihpuria police yesterday arrested one Tayeb Ali, who was trying to sell off a fake gold artefact to a mother-son duo hailing from West Bengal, and also seized a cash amount of Rs 1.69 lakh from his possession. One of his accomplices, Rashid from Mohghuli area, is at large. Police said that the fake gold trader called up the customers to sell off the artefact for Rs 3 lakh. The mother-son duo reached Banderdewa in Lakhimpur to buy the artefact and reportedly paid Rs 1.85 lakh to him as well, but the moment they realised that they have been duped, they refused to take the item. This led to an alteration between them inside a three-wheeler, drawing attention from the public, and subsequently Tayeb was arrested by police.
On Tuesday, Bihpuria police arrested two persons � Sukur Ali and Fazar Ali � with a fake currency printing machine at Bangalmora. A fake gold item and a cash amount of Rs 80,000 were also seized from them.
These illegal activities have now spread to a wider area outside Assam with the increased use of mobile phone technology. All the illegal traders arrested in the last several years belong to a smaller radius of Bangalmora area under two police stations and three police outposts. Yet, the inability of the police to eradicate the trade completely has been a baffling reality for people in Lakhimpur district.
