No conviction of fake currency rackateers in Andhra

U SUDHAKAR REDDY
Though terror networks have been introducing fake currency into the Indian markets, including in Andhra Pradesh, the conviction rate remains abysmal. Since 2006, police has achieved conviction only in one case.
The Andhra Pradesh police has not been pursuing counterfeit currency cases seriously though Pakistan-based Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terror groups are pumping in fake notes to destabilise the economy.
The conviction rate in fake currency cases in the state is abysmally low. Since 2006, police could achieve conviction only in one case.Burdened as it is with regular law and order and crime duties, police has failed to investigate such cases properly.
In 2008, out of 304 fake note cases, charge-sheet was filed only in 20 cases and 212 cases are still under investigation. As many as 72 cases are in the "undetected" category and 19 are pending for trial.
"Counterfeit currency cases are piling up in the state," said a senior police officer.
In the last eight years, sleuths have busted 10 major fake currency rackets sponsored by the ISI and arrested 25 persons. They also recovered counterfeit currency worth about three crore rupees.
In certain cases in which international gangs are involved, investigation had been extended to West Bengal and Gujarat.But no initiative was taken for this in many instances. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) files the cases with Saifabad police, which does not have the staff strength to investigate them."We are transferring the cases as we don't have staff to probe them," said the Saifabad ACP, Mr Narottham Reddy. Alarmingly, in recent instances the investigators found that some bank employees are also involved in the circulation of fake currency.
The issue came to the limelight again the other week with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) warning that ISI has pumped in fake currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs1,000.
The Reserve Bank of India has also issued a similar warning and said that certain banks are not following currency chest guidelines, allowing fake currency to slip in.
According to the city police, counterfeit cur rency is routed through Bangladesh from Pakistan.
"In the Rs 38 lakh seizure the trail lead up to West Bengal, and the accused confessed that they got the currency from Bangladesh," said Mr V.B. Kamalasan Reddy, the task force deputy commissioner of police.
He added that police had not been able to trace any links to terror groups yet. "Links with hawala operators cannot be ruled out," he said.
In another fake currency case, names of three Pak istanis have figured in the investigation. Two key racketeers, Aftab Bhatki, a native of Mumbai, and Babu Gaithan, a native of Barkas in the city, could not be nabbed. They are both in Dubai and the Andhra Pradesh police has sought the help of the Interpol to catch them but nothing has been done do far.
In August 2007, police seized counterfeit currency worth Rs 2.36 crore and arrested a UAE national and three others from the city. But the kingpin of the rack et, Kamlesh, based in Hong Kong, is still absconding.
Even as investigation remains lax, the state crime . records bureau statistics show that there is in an t increase in counterfeit cur rency cases by 66.5 per cent every year. Around 343 cases of fake currency are reported in a year., The police said that East Godavari, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam were the nerve centres of fake cur rency circulation in the state.
Hyderabad has become a transit point for receiving consignments of counterfeit currency from UAE (Dubai) from where it is taken to various places in the coun try.
The fake currency coming to the state is of high quality and RBI officials say it is very difficult to distinguish it from the real stuff. The number of counterfeit cur rency detected per million t notes in the banking channel is only eight.
"A layman will not be able to identify the fake notes,"said the DCP. "Such is the precision with which they are made. They have most of the latest security fea. tures."

Maoist supreme commander Ganapathi looks like this

By U Sudhakar Reddy

The CPI Maoist supreme commander, Ganapati, alias Mupalla Lakshmana Rao, who has been evading cops for almost three decades appeared on You Tube and on TVs.
The video recording of his speech in the Unity Congress (the ninth Congress of the CPI Maoists) held in 2007 January-February in the forests of Bhimbund in the borders of Bihar and Jharkhand was “leaked” and uploaded on the video site.
Special intelligence branch sleuths and balladeer Gaddar have identified that it is Ganapati on the video. It is suspected that he is now based in Dandakaranya.
While police say Maoist leaders may have leaked the video clipping, there are reports it was the intelligence officials who leaked it after getting hold of the clipping from arrested Maoist leader Kobad Gandhy. An intelligence official said the police got the photograph two years ago.
“The video clipping is also with us,” he said. “No doubt it is Ganapati. He looks like a soft-spoken schoolteacher and has turned 60.” Ganapati hails from Karimnagar district and was carrying a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head. He is a science graduate and succeeded People’s War founder Kondapalli Seetharamaiah as general secretary in 1991.

Bollywood actor Sridevi's signature forged: truth lab

By Udumula Sudhakar Reddy

The city-based Truth Labs has helped Bollywood star Sridevi and her producer husband Boney Kapoor in solving their case. They have approached Hyderabad private forensic lab in alleged cheque forgery case. The forensics lab has proved that their signatures on Rs 10 crore cheque were forged and did not belong to the film personalities.Sridevi was dragged to the court by a financier who alleged that her Rs 10-crore cheque had bounced on being presented in a bank. She had then filed a counter-complaint with the Juhu police alleging that her signatures were forged.The cheques were sent to the Truth Labs for verification. Mr K.P.C. Gandhi of Truth Labs said, “A famous Bollywood actor, who has acted in nearly 150 films, had reported her cheque book stolen. Several cheques were forged causing a loss to the tune of more than Rs 10 crore.”“These cheques were issued to film production companies. The cheques were brought from Mumbai by a representative of the actor. We gave the report in two days and the money was recovered after identifying the forger,” Mr Gandhi said.Talking of another case, Mr Gandhi said that a Bengaluru-based flying institute had forged the signature of the Karnataka governor to gain favours. That forgery was detected within a week.

Can Kurnool be saved from future floods?

Udumula Sudhakar Reddy/Kurnool

Can kurnool be saved from future floods and massive destruction? Experts and eminent citizens of the city say that government has to take tough and apolitical stand on encroachments of the river bed of Handri and Tungabadhra.The KC canal that also runs in the mid of the town apart from Handri has no space even for carrying out repair works.Retired Executive Engineer of Irrigation department of Kurnool who was the pioneer of Sunkeshula Dam construction Mr K Krishna Reddy says ,”The riverbed of Handri that passes in the city was encroached from Old Kallur to Bandimetta at the stretch of 4 km and KC Canal though not related to the latest floods was encroached from Bangarupea to NH7 and even repairs can be carried as there is no space for vehicle movement on the bund. The tungabadra was encroached from mamidalapadu to Saibaba temple. These encroachments were sponsored by the political leaders and there efforts to remove them are halted,”Experts say the flood protection wall has to be taken up on Handri river and to be strengthened on Tungbadra.Though government approved the flood protection wall in 2007 and it didn’t realise due to the legal tangles.Mr I Vijay Kumar Reddy of Kurnool chamber of commerce says ,”they are sitting on the construction of flood wall for the past two years. It shall be taken upon war footing. Shifting all those near the river bed is no solution,”Even MLA TG Venkatesh and others houses in upper class Prakash Nagar are situated near Tunagabadra river.Dr KG Reddy a noted urologist says ,”some of these colonies are 500 years old. But they have to be shifted and rehabilitated,”The former Chief Minister Mr Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy memorial is on the banks of Handri and it is submerge during low intensity floods too often.Irrigation expert Mr Krishna Reddy said ,”It was the heavy rainfall much above than expected by meteorological department has resulted in this heavy floods. Tungabadhra dam can only accommodate 5.25 lakh cusecs. If it exceeds it creates havoc. It rained heavily in all catchments areas of Krishna and Handri in Kurnool and Mahabubnagar apart from that coming from Karnataka,”

Kurnool flood: Crucial rail link ignored in sending relief

Udumula Sudhakar Reddy/Kurnool

The crucial rail link between Hyderabad and Kurnool that was restored on October 4th morning was ignored by the State government officials and didn’t use it to send the relief material and men through the trains.Experts now see this as blunder as several of the relief material was stranded on NH7 at Beechupally and officials who were using the choppers couldn’t make it in emergency situation.

Instead it was relief by NGOs and groups from Anantapur, Kadapa and Chittoor that actually saved Kurnool residents out of starvation.Railway officials at Kurnool said that there was no special relief van used to send material from Hyderabad and even they didn’t use luggage cabins of express and passenger trains moving towards Bangalore and Chennai via KurnoolAdditional DG (Law and Order) Mr A K Khan said ,”restoring road links takes time and railways doest it faster. We have been stressing on the use of trains to send the relief material.,”The rail link was also initially cut off at Tunagabadhra but it was restoredby 4th.Mr Govind Reddy of Red Cross says ,”they didn’t use railways which would have been faster and easier. The relief on road from Hyderabad didn’t reach this place so far. The officials immersed in planning of relief measures neglected the basics,”The restoration work of NH7 is still on and it would take another week days officials said.Meanwhile hundreds of passengers were walking all along the track of stretch of 10 km from Kurnool to Alampur to take a bus or auto at Alampur to reach their destinations as the road links were cut off.G Narendra Shastry a priest in Bala Tripuarasundari Ammavari Devasthanam at NR Peta says ,”The temple is in water still. I have sent my family to Dhone. As my brother at Raichur is in serious health condition I have to go there. So I am walking all along the track to reach Jogulamba junction in Alampur.On the other hand there was migration on large scale to Hyderabad from the surrounding villages of Kurnool.Mr C Mahesh a mason of Gondipalem says ,”my houses in submerge and everything is lost. So with my wife and son I am going to Hyderabad for work,”