The ongoing investigations by National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other multiple agencies into the recent smashing of an international fake currency racket has once again not just confirmed the nexus between the underworld and the Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) but also revealed that Aftab Batki, a key associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, is the mastermind behind the entire network.
Batki, who controls the Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) operations on behalf of Dawood, is also said to be the treasurer of the D-company maintaining a meticulous record of underworld don’s investments in a slew of business ventures.
However, what has surprised the intelligence agencies is that Batki, who normally operates from Karachi and Dubai, had been lying low for quite sometime now.
But, sources added, Batki has once again been directed by the ISI top-brass to revive his syndicate of fake currency operatives in UAE, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and even Thailand.
The news, investigators feel, is an extremely disturbing trend as it reveals that the ISI is planning an all out offensive to pump in large amounts of FICN into India with the sole intention of not just destabilising the Indian economy but also to fund its jehadi factories in the country.
Incidentally, Batki is one of the most wanted criminals in India with an Interpol Red Corner Notice issued against him.
Sources said Batki not only assisted the ISI in setting up a state-of-the-art printing press for churning out counterfeit currency in Karachi but also helped the Pak intelligence agency in procuring “sensitive raw material’’ like paper, ink and even printing machinery from some suppliers in Europe through his contacts.
“Batki becoming active again is bad news for Indian security agencies,’’ a top official said.