The Re 1 coin in your pocket is worth Rs 35 in Bangladesh — in the form of razor blades. That’s the secret behind the mystery of the missing coins in Kolkata. A surprisingly ingenious and profitable method of cross-border smuggling that affected everyone, from you and the para grocer to big businessmen and the Reserve Bank of India.
The secret was unearthed at a workshop at Girish Park in central Kolkata on Thursday night. The evidence was telling: sacks of coins, a furnace to melt them and stacks of metal alloy bars. Pintu Halder, who ran the show, had simply turned his brass-rod workshop on Shimla Road into a coin-melting unit when business went bad.
Three persons, including Pintu’s brother Monobrata and an employee Mohanlal Shaw, were arrested but police feel this is only the tip of a huge international racket. It was a trader in Ashoknagar who roped Pintu into the racket. The trail, not surprisingly, led police to the border areas of North 24-Parganas.
They were stunned to discover that a Re 1 coin was enough to forge five high-quality razor blades (thanks to the quality of the metal alloy used by RBI’s mint) in Bangladesh, each selling for Rs 5 to Rs 7. Police say the quality of metal in Indian coins is much better than other countries. So much so that melted down, it’s good enough for making exquisite ornaments as well. No wonder the racket was a flourishing cross-border trade. Even in the city, there were traders dishing out Rs 130 for Rs 100 worth of coins from pan shopowners. Thursday’s raid alone yielded 183 kg of coins and 3 kg of melted coin in the form of bars , said DC (central) Ajey Ranade.
The illegal trade reached such proportions in Kolkata that Re 1, 50 paise and 25 paise coins vanished from the market. Businessmen lined up before RBI to collect coins and the latter had to issue statements saying it had not cut down supply of coins. Now the hunt is on for other members in the racket.
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