Mumbai: A special NIA court has convicted Jasim alias Wasim Salim Shaikh for possessing fake Indian currency notes worth Rs82,000. Shaikh pleaded guilty after spending nearly five years in prison, leading the court to sentence him to the time he has already served, along with a Rs10,000 fine.
Shaikh's case was originally handled by Mumbra police before being transferred to the NIA. The investigation revealed that while imprisoned for mobile theft in Kolkata, Shaikh was convinced by a fellow inmate, Isak Khan, to get involved in the fake currency trade.
After his release on bail in April 2019, Shaikh was contacted by Khan and asked to collect a consignment of fake notes from an associate in Karnataka. He subsequently traveled there, picked up the Rs82,000 in fake Rs500 notes, and returned home to Mumbra, where he was arrested.
The court noted that this was Shaikh’s first offense of this nature and that he had been “persuaded” into the crime by Khan. This played a role in the decision to limit his punishment to the time he had already spent behind bars.
