Agartala: Dec 18: After a decade-long trial, Judge Angshuman Debbarma of Dharmanagar District Court has sentenced the accused to five years of rigorous imprisonment under two sections for a counterfeit currency case. Additionally, a fine of five thousand rupees has been imposed, with an additional six months of imprisonment in default of payment.
Government lawyer Partha Pal stated that on November 1, 2014, around 6 PM, a person named Helal Uddin, a resident of Uttar Padambil, Panisagar, North Tripura district, visited Kshitish Chandra Debnath’s grocery store in Dharmanagar town to purchase something. After making some purchases, Helal gave the shopkeeper a five hundred rupee note, which aroused the shopkeeper’s suspicion. It was initially understood to be counterfeit. Later, the shopkeeper’s son, Motilal Das, along with other nearby shopkeepers, informed the Dharmanagar police station. Upon receiving the news, the police rushed to the scene. Searching the accused, the police recovered a total of six counterfeit five hundred rupee notes, amounting to three thousand rupees.
A case was registered under sections 389B and 389C of the Indian Penal Code at Dharmanagar police station, and the investigating officer, Nandadulal Saha, began the investigation. Meanwhile, the recovered three thousand rupees were found to be counterfeit in a forensic science report. Upon interrogating the arrested person, a young man named Almas Ali from Dakshin Kadamtala was detained but was later released as he was found to be innocent. Meanwhile, as the investigating officer Nandadulal Saha was transferred, Sub-Inspector Debjyoti Chatterjee took over the case. Later, he submitted the chargesheet to the Dharmanagar District and Sessions Court.
On this day, he further stated that after the case had been ongoing for a long ten years, based on the testimonies of seven witnesses, Judge Angshuman Debbarma of Dharmanagar Court on Wednesday sentenced the accused Helal Uddin to five years of rigorous imprisonment under section 389B. Along with this, a fine of five thousand rupees has been imposed, and in default of payment, an additional six months of imprisonment has been ordered. Additionally, under section 389C, a sentence of five years of rigorous imprisonment has been imposed along with a fine of five thousand rupees and an additional six months of imprisonment in default of payment. During the hearing of this case in court, the testimonies of seven witnesses were recorded.