A resident of Kumargram in the Alipurduar district was arrested on Sunday night in Jaigaon after he was accused of buying a cellphone using fake Bhutanese currency.
Two more persons were arrested from Birpara, Alipurduar, on Sunday night for handing over fake currency to a person in Cooch Behar in a cash-exchange deal.
Sources said that around 9.30pm, Roy walked into a shop in Jaigaon on the India-Bhutan border and bought a cell phone. While paying for it, he handed over some Bhutanese currency to the shop owner.
Seeing the notes, the owner felt suspicious and informed the local police. A team from the Jaigaon police station went to the shop and checked the notes. They found the notes to be fake.
Roy was taken into custody. On frisking, fake currency of face value of ₹1.20 lakh was found in his possession.
“We suspect he is associated with a racket engaged in the circulation of fake currency notes. Our officers will interrogate him to know where he got the fake Bhutanese notes from,” said a police officer.
Falakata police arrested Sunil Sha and Manju Mia from Birpara on Sunday night for allegedly cheating a person, Dulal Mia, with fake currency notes.
Dulal, from Ghokshadanga of Cooch Behar, had recently complained about the duo to Falakata police.
According to his complaint, the duo had contacted Dulal, offering to pay ₹1 lakh in 100-rupee notes and asking him to pay them only ₹25,000 in return but in 500-rupee notes. The duo had claimed “inconvenience” in carrying the 100-rupee notes.
Dulal, thinking he was making a clean ₹75,000 profit, agreed. He paid the duo ₹25,000 and took their bag with 100-rupee notes.
However, when Dulal checked the notes, he found they were fake and filed a complaint with the police.
On Sunday, the police recovered ₹6,000 in denominations of 500 and a two-wheeler from the duo. A probe is on.