Counterfeiter sentenced to 10 year jail term

GANGTOK, 11 March: Sikkim received its first conviction in a case concerning possession and printing of counterfeit currency notes when one of the three persons accused, Youhana Hang Subba, was convicted of the charges and sentenced by the Sessions Judge on 14 February, 2012. The conviction comes nearly 10 years since the accused was arrested. Youhana Hang Subba, who also has other criminal cases pending against him, was sentenced to a ten year jail term by the Sessions Judge, Special Division - I, Gangtok.
The accused has also been convicted for counterfeiting currency notes and possession of forged notes with the intention to use them as genuine. These charges have led to a sentence of 7 years and finally his conviction on charges of possessing “instruments or materials for forging or making counterfeit currency notes” carries a seven year imprisonment as well. All sentences are to run concurrently.
The case dates almost a decade back to December 2003 when a CID team led by DSP Nedup Wangdi raided a residence at Joredhara, 5th Mile, Tadong, Gangtok, and confiscated counterfeits amounting to Rs. 4.30 lakh. The cache was in various denominations and also seized from the spot were “tools”, which included photo copier, scanner, the Gandhi water mark, security block etc.  being used for the manufacture of counterfeits.
The CID had arrested 3 persons, two of whom have been acquitted by the court for lack of sufficient evidence of their involvement. One is a resident of Jalpaiguri and the other a resident of Baluwakhani, Gangtok.
While it has taken almost 10 years for the lone conviction to come through, it is still a boost for the law enforcement agencies here which have been grappling with the proliferation of counterfeit currency notes in the State for the past few years. Just recently, an A Grade government contractor had been arrested by the CID  in Namchi and charged with possession of counterfeit currency notes. He was later released on bail.
Even Chief Minister Pawan Chamling had noted during the recent Police Science Congress that proliferation of fake currency along with financial scams were a worrying trend in the state.
The Sessions Judge, while convicting Youhana Hang Subba, has noted that such offences not only affect one’s immediate society but is totally against the interest of the nation. The sentence of 10 years, which is the maximum under the relevant section of the IPC has been announced  by the court “… bearing in mind the magnitude of the consequence of a crime of this nature and the mindset and total lack of morality on the part of the accused individual”.
The period of detention, about 3 months, already undergone is to be set off against the period of imprisonment announced by the court.