Sept. 13: Sleuths of the criminal investigation department (CID) of Assam police today seized counterfeit stamp papers totalling Rs 3 lakh from a hotel in Paltan Bazar. Two persons were arrested.

Deputy inspector-general (CID) A. Rajkumar said counterfeit stamp papers totalling Rs 3.43 lakh were seized during a search by a CID team in a hotel near the Assam State Transport Corporation bus stand in Paltan Bazar this afternoon.

The two arrested were identified as Brajesh Kumar and Brijesh Kumar of Bihar’s Chapra district. Both are in their mid-thirties. “During preliminary interrogation, the accused confessed that a Patna-based party had supplied them the fake stamp papers in Chapra,” Rajkumar said.

A case will be registered against the duo at the CID police station under Sections 258 and 259 IPC on charges of possessing counterfeit government stamps. They will be produced in court tomorrow.

A CID source said they arrived in Guwahati from Chapra three days back. The CID team has also seized railway tickets from Chapra to Guwahati from the two.

“We suspect that a big racket must be involved in this unlawful activity and we expect to unearth more details about their operation during investigations,” Rajkumar said.

Among the fake non-judicial stamp papers, five are of Rs 5,000 denomination and the remaining are of Rs 1,000 denomination.

The DIG (CID) said the fake stamp papers could be made out because they appeared thinner than the original. He said the arrested duo told the police that the fakes were done on computers.

“We do not have any information about fake stamp papers being manufactured or stored in the Northeast. The counterfeit papers are mostly brought from other parts of the country and sold in the city,” a CID source said.

The source said the CID would also probe whether this racket has any link with the multicrore-rupee fake stamp paper scam masterminded by Abdul Karim Telgi.

The two men established contact with persons who were willing to procure fake stamp papers through various channels and came down from Chapra once the deal was finalised.

The CID official said they established contact with the duo through a source about a week back and convinced them to come to the city to execute the deal. “According to the deal, the two were supposed to give us court paper worth Rs 1 lakh for Rs 60,000.”