Agartala: Dec 18: After a decade-long legal battle, Judge Angshuman Debbarma of the Dharmanagar District Court sentenced the accused, Helal Uddin, to five years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in a counterfeit currency case. The sentence was given under two sections of the Indian Penal Code, with an additional fine of five thousand rupees. If Helal fails to pay the fine, he faces an additional six months of imprisonment. The case, which has been under investigation since 2014, concluded on Wednesday after detailed hearings and witness testimonies.
The case began on November 1, 2014, when Helal Uddin, a resident of Uttar Padambil in Panisagar, visited Kshitish Chandra Debnath’s grocery store in Dharmanagar. After making a purchase, Helal paid with a five hundred rupee note that raised suspicion from the shopkeeper. The note was initially believed to be counterfeit. The shopkeeper’s son, Motilal Das, along with other local shopkeepers, alerted the Dharmanagar police. Upon arriving at the scene, the police found six counterfeit five hundred rupee notes in Helal’s possession, amounting to three thousand rupees.
A case was filed under sections 389B and 389C of the IPC, leading to an investigation. The recovered currency was confirmed as counterfeit through a forensic report. Though another individual, Almas Ali, was initially detained, he was later released after being found innocent. The case was transferred to Sub-Inspector Debjyoti Chatterjee after the original investigating officer, Nandadulal Saha, was transferred.
After a lengthy trial involving seven witnesses, Judge Debbarma delivered the verdict, sentencing Helal Uddin to five years of rigorous imprisonment under both sections. The court also imposed a fine of five thousand rupees, with an additional six months of imprisonment in default of payment.
