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Kathmandu confirms ISI hand in fake currency operation

Josy Joseph in Kathmandu

The huge consignment of fake Indian currency seized from a Pakistani embassy official on January 2 could only have been printed at a national security press, probably of the Pakistan government, say reliable sources in Nepal's administration.

They confirmed that Mohammed Aslam Cheema, first secretary in the Pakistan embassy and the second senior-most Inter-Services Intelligence operator in Kathmandu, was the man behind the operation. A slight "lack of co-ordination" resulted in only Asim Saboor, another ISI agent, being arrested.

Cheema had handed over a mysterious bag on December 24 to the five hijackers of the Indian Airlines plane at the Tribhuvan International Airport, entering there without security check using his diplomatic immunity.

Saboor, an upper division clerk in the Pakistan embassy who was strangely provided a diplomatic vehicle and respected even by his senior officers, was arrested last Sunday with crisp 500 rupee notes at the end of a laborious investigation by the Kathmandu police.

Fake currency worth Rs 20 million was recovered from his residence by the Valley Crime Investigation Department.

Saboor, a key agent of Pakistan's ISI, has been thrown out of Nepal, despite heavy pressure from Pakistan.

The currency notes were of very high quality, and would be sent to New Delhi for final tests. "It could have only been printed at a national security press," a highly placed source in Nepal government told rediff.com.

Investigations reveal that the ISI has been flooding Nepal and Indian border states with fake notes as part of its operation to destabilise the Indian economy. The notes could have been smuggled into Kathmandu from Pakistan using diplomatic channels.

Investigators recovered the Rs 500 notes from Saboor's rented two-storied apartment at Maharajgunj in the city, which is hardly 500 metres from Nepal Foreign Minister Ram Sharan Mahat's residence.

The Pakistan embassy claimed diplomatic immunity for him, delaying his arrest. After a long drama on the streets of Kathmandu, the government asked him to vacate Nepal in 72 hours. He left Nepal along with his wife on January 6.

Major drama followed the first raid on his house, with dozens of policemen surrounding it, awaiting orders from higher-ups to arrest him. Along with his family, Saboor, who is believed to have been distributing the notes to India-bound terrorists and Nepalese smugglers, locked himself inside his house for several hours. The police then cut off his telephone lines and water supply.

Senior Pakistani embassy officials rushed to his apartment, unconvincingly arguing that Saboor had diplomatic immunity. But an identity card issued to him says he is a non-diplomatic official.

The ISI operation came to light when the Nepal police arrested two persons with 15 kilogrammes of hashish on the Kathmandu-Bhaktapur highway. They recovered a fake Rs 500 note too.

From there a series of arrests started. After apprehending almost a dozen people, the police finally reached Saboor. In fact, the police reached his residence without realising that he is a Pakistan embassy official.

Saboor agreed to exchange fake notes worth Rs 50,000 for the same amount in Nepalese currency with an undercover lady police inspector. One Indian rupee is worth 1.6 Nepalese rupee.

Once the lady inspector trapped him, he rushed into his house, locked the door and started burning the consignment of notes.

Meanwhile, senior Indian embassy officials hinted that India is looking at the possibility of giving legal sanctity to its Rs 500 notes. Presently 500 notes are not legal tenders in Nepal, while Indian currencies of every other denomination are.

A Reserve Bank of India order a few years ago had banned Rs 500 notes as legal tenders. This has led to a peculiar situation where it is not illegal under Nepalese laws to handle fake Rs 500 notes.

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