# NIA searches 8 locations across three states in fake currency case 2026-11-04T17:50:35+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, conducted searches at eight locations across Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal in a case involving the recovery of fake Indian currency notes with a face value of Rs 2.48 lakh. The searches were carried out at two locations in Aurangabad and three in Gaya district of Bihar, two in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand, and one in Malda district of West Bengal. Digital devices, incriminating documents and Bangladeshi currency were seized during the raids. The case was initially registered at Madanpur police station in Bihar's Aurangabad district on 15 August 2026 against four accused: Surendra Kumar, Vijay Yadav, Ranjan, and Pradeep Saw. The NIA re-registered the case on 18 October 2026 and took over the investigation on orders of the Union Home Ministry. The Times of India reported that a separate seven-member NIA team searched two houses in Hazaribag for nearly seven hours, seizing documents, mobile phones and a printer-like device, though the agency has not confirmed any detention. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The three outlets report the same eight-location search but differ in focus. The Tribune provides the most detail, naming the four accused and citing the NIA's investigation into alleged fake note smuggling. The Times of India focuses narrowly on the two Hazaribag searches, including the denial of involvement by Pradeep Saw and his wife, and explicitly notes that NIA has not confirmed any detention or official links to counterfeit currency. Mid-Day's report is the briefest, stating the raids were to gather evidence and establish the wider network. The uniform core is the NIA operation, the Times of India adds ground-level reaction from the searched families, while the Tribune supplies the legal context of the registered case. Neither outlet contradicts the other on any fact. The coverage is straight reporting with no discernible editorial slant. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Leads with local search detail, includes family denial, no editorialising - mid-day.com (neutral report) Short wire-style summary of the multi-state operation - tribuneindia.com (neutral report) Provides case registration detail and accused names, straight factual report This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Bihar, Hazaribag, Jharkhand, NIA, West Bengal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/nia-searches-8-locations-across-three-states-in-fake-currency-case/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/nia-searches-8-locations-across-three-states-in-fake-currency-case/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/