NIA, SSB Raid 11 Madhubani Properties in Bihar Fake Currency, Narcotics Probe

The National Investigation Agency, working with the Narcotics Control Bureau, the Sashastra Seema Bal, Bihar Police and local administration, carried out coordinated raids on 11 premises in Bihar’s Madhubani district on Thursday, October 8–9, 2026, in a case involving an alleged cross-border network trafficking Fake Indian Currency Notes and narcotics.

The searches were centred on properties linked to 60-year-old Hira Mahaseth, also known locally as Chachi and as Hira Devi Mahaseth, and her husband Bharat Mahaseth. The locations were mostly in Duhabi Bazar, also referred to as Duhbi Bazaar, near the India-Nepal border under the Basopatti and Jaynagar police station areas. The operation began around 5 a.m. and continued for several hours.

Investigators searched a mix of residential and commercial premises, including grocery shops, warehouses, a machinery store, a garage and spare-parts outlets, looking for documents and other evidence related to the case. All 11 premises, including the main grocery shop and warehouses, were later sealed under a court order. Authorities also suspended mobile internet services in the area for security reasons and deployed a mobile tower-dumping vehicle.

Personnel from the SSB joined the operation to provide security and logistical support along the open border. Among those named in the operation were Deputy Commandant Hari Narayan Jat and Assistant Commandant Paras Rathi, with some reports referring to involvement from the 48th Battalion. NIA teams were led by officers including DSP Kislay, also reported as Kishlay, Kumar Sinha and Inspector Vikas Kumar. NCB’s DSP Om Prakash Rai, Bihar Police Rural SP Shivam Dhakad, Jainagar DSP Sadanand Kumar, STF Inspector Amit Kumar and local administrative officials were also part of the coordinated action.

Some reports said SSB personnel had deposited their mobile phones at a camp before the searches began, apparently to maintain operational secrecy during the raid.

What the case is about

The latest raids are part of a wider investigation that has gathered pace over the past one-and-a-half months, after earlier arrests and recoveries pointed to an alleged smuggling syndicate operating across the Indo-Nepal border.

Bharat Mahaseth and an associate, Shiv Kumar Raut, also known as Mehman, were arrested in early August 2026, with some reports placing the arrests on August 2, after counterfeit notes with a face value of ₹50,150 were recovered in a joint operation involving the STF and SSB, though some accounts refer to police involvement instead. Hira Mahaseth was arrested around September 14–15, 2026, on allegations linked to the smuggling of FICN, liquor and narcotics, including charas, ganja and other substances. After her arrest, the case was handed over to the NIA.

Police records and investigator accounts describe Hira Mahaseth as an important figure in a network said to have links stretching from Madhubani to Kathmandu in Nepal. Other associates, including Krishna Thakur, have also been linked to the syndicate. Some reports say the family had been under surveillance for about six months before the raids, and suggest suspected financial and operational connections across the border, including a shop in Nepal’s Udaypur district at Gaighat that was allegedly used as a front.

One local report also said assets allegedly accumulated through illegal activities were being examined, with figures of more than ₹250 crore mentioned. Those claims remain under investigation and have not been independently established.

No major recovery of cash or narcotics was publicly reported from the latest searches. The focus of the operation was on documents and other material, which were reportedly taken to Patna for analysis. The NIA has not issued an official statement detailing any specific recoveries from the raids.

Authorities say the broader inquiry is continuing, including scrutiny of financial trails, associates and cross-border links in the network. Local police, including Madhubani SP Yogendra Kumar in related statements, have said that many properties of the Mahaseth family along the border have been traced.

The case has drawn attention to the persistent vulnerability of the Indo-Nepal border to smuggling networks because of its open character. Central and border agencies have been working to dismantle the alleged syndicate and determine the extent of its reach into Bihar and across the border into Nepal.

This report is based on contemporaneous coverage from Hindustan Times and local Bihar media outlets, including Live Hindustan. There are minor variations across reports regarding the exact number of locations raided, with some citing 12 instead of 11, and the precise dates of arrest. The figures and sequence used here follow the main English-language reporting, supplemented by consistent details from local sources.