ED to question jailed Dubai-based businessman to probe 26/11 funding
New Delhi, Sep 21: The Enforcement Directorate is planning to question Dubai-based hawala operator, Naval Kishore Kapoor, who is currently lodged in Tihar Central jail here, to find details of funding which emerged out of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
A senior ED official, privy to the probe, told IANS requesting anonymity that the agency had obtained permission from the special NIA court in Delhi to question the hawala operator on November 11. Kapoor was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on July 16 this year.
According to probe officials, the NIA is looking into the funding aspects of the Mumbai attacks in which the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba chief, Hafiz Saeed, is involved. In all, 164 people had died in the terror attack carried out by militants who came from Pakistan.
According to the ED official, the grilling of Kapoor was required as the NIA probe had revealed a lease agreement signed in 2014 between him and Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Ahmed Watali who was arrested by the counter-terror probe agency on August 17, 2017.
The ED official said that the questioning of Kapoor is likely to "unearth the 26/11 attack financial funding trail to Pakistan-based terrorist organisation, including Saeed."
Saeed has been named as the mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks. His name also figures in the NIA's terror funding case which aimed at stoking unrest in the Kashmir valley.
The NIA had registered a case on May 30 against separatist and secessionist leaders, including unknown members of the Hurriyat Conference, who have been acting in connivance with active militants of proscribed terrorist organisations -- Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)in Pakistan and Dukhtaran-e-Millat in Kashmir.
Saeed, the Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the front of the banned terrorist organisation LeT, has been named in the FIR as an accused.
On January 18, Watali was charge-sheeted by the NIA along with Saeed, Syed Salahuddin -- head of Hizbul Mujahideen -- seven Kashmiri separatist leaders and others in the terror-funding case in the Valley.
They were charge under stringent anti-terror laws for hatching a conspiracy to wage a war against India.
Last year, the ED had registered a case under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on an FIR filed by the NIA.
The ED official said that Kapoor had entered into an agreement with Trison Farms and Constructions through its Managing Director Watali to take land in Budgam, Kashmir, on lease and had remitted a total amount of Rs 5.58 crore in 22 instalments between 2013 and 2016 to Watali.
The official said that according to the NIA chargesheet, the land did not exist in the name of the company and the agreement lacked legal sanctity.
"As it proves that the said agreement was used as a cover created by Watali to bring foreign remittance from unknown sources to India, we need to grill him," the official said.
The ED official also said that the NIA had evidence showing Watali's proximity with the Pakistani establishment.
"On the basis of documents seized from Watali by the NIA, which discloses a list of ISI officials and a letter addressed to Pakistan High Commissioner recommending grant of visa to him," the ED official said.
In the chargesheet, the NIA had produced documents which apparently showed that Watali had received funds from the Pakistani establishment and terror organisations, which were later transferred to Kashmiri secessionists.
"Watali was bringing money from offshore locations to India by layering it through scores of firms and companies," the ED official said. The NIA chargesheet also describes Watali as one of the conduits dealing with Hawala transactions.
Watali also has been associated with the LoC trade and has worked as the president of the LoC Traders' Association in the past.
On July 24, 2017, the NIA had arrested Aftab Hilali Shah alias Shahid-ul-Islam, Ayaz Akbar Khandey, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate, Nayeem Khan, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal and Bashir Ahmad Bhat alias Peer Saifullah, allegedly for being linked to the funding case.
Altaf Ahmad Shah is the son-in-law of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who advocates Jammu and Kashmir's merger with Pakistan.
Shahid-ul-Islam is an aide of moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Khandey is the spokesperson for the Geelani-led Hurriyat.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
AAP indulging in 'dangerous vendetta politics': Raghav Chadha after meeting President Murmu
New Delhi (PTI): Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government of indulging in 'vendetta politics' and misusing the state machinery to target the MPs who recently quit the party and merged with the BJP in the Rajya Sabha.
Chadha, along with three other MPs, met President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday and submitted a representation alleging harassment and "politically motivated" action against them following their exit from AAP.
Rajya Sabha MPs Rajinder Gupta and Ashok Mittal were part of the delegation.
"All those MPs who exercised their constitutional right to express disagreement with the Aam Aadmi Party and chose to leave it, and all these incidents and developments, have been presented today before the President of India. I also want to tell the Aam Aadmi Party that as long as we were obedient, we were considered cultured. The moment we left, we were branded corrupt," Chadha told reporters here after the meeting.
He alleged that several former AAP MPs who have joined the BJP are facing intimidation and coercive actions from state agencies.
"The Aam Aadmi Party, which accuses everyone else of revenge politics, is today itself indulging in dangerous vendetta politics. Since April 24, when we left AAP and merged with the BJP, our MPs are being systematically targeted and harassed," he said.
Citing specific instances, Chadha claimed that former cricketer and MP Harbhajan Singh has been attacked, while industrialist and MP Rajendra Gupta's business operations have allegedly been disrupted.
"We left the Aam Aadmi Party on April 24, 2026, and merged with the BJP. Since then, harassment of our MPs has begun. First, World Cup-winning cricketer Harbhajan Singh had "traitor" written outside his house. Stones were thrown at his residence with the help of Punjab Police, and offensive slogans were raised targeting his family," he alleged.
"Then, our colleague Rajinder Gupta, a Padma Shri awardee and an industrialist running a major factory in Punjab's Malwa region--providing livelihood to around 30,000 people--had his factory targeted. The Punjab government allegedly cut off its water supply, and the Pollution Board conducted raids to initiate its closure," he said.
He further claimed that cases have been registered against MP Sandeep Pathak, terming them "malicious and fabricated".
"These FIRs and notices are so frivolous that they are not worth the paper they are written on. The judiciary will tear them apart," Chadha said.
He warned the AAP government that such actions could have serious consequences. "Using vigilance, the Pollution Board, and the police for political revenge is a dangerous game. You may have started it, but the end will not be good. This must stop," he said.
"The AAP has a government in one state and control over the police there. The BJP has governments in 21 states and control over police forces in those states," he added.
Chadha also alleged that attempts are being made to target him next through "fabricated cases" and claimed that social media campaigns are being run to malign them.
Appealing to Punjab government officials, he urged them not to act under political pressure. "I want to tell officials that you are respected officers. Do not succumb to threats of transfer or suspension. Act according to law and in national interest," he said.
The Rajya Sabha MP also took a swipe at the AAP, saying those who invoke Mahatma Gandhi's ideals are now misusing state machinery for political purposes. "The people of Punjab must know how their government is being used to settle political scores," Chadha added.
Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak alleged that the party is now resorting to coercive measures out of "fear and panic".
"We joined the Aam Aadmi Party because it showed the country a dream -- a dream of starting a new kind of politics, an honest form of politics. While being there, due to ideological reasons and after witnessing several inconsistencies, we decided to leave the party," he said.
"Out of fear and panic, the Aam Aadmi Party is now filing FIRs. They are conducting raids in factories and trying to intimidate people through false FIRs. I want to say 'go ahead, file FIRs', but do not back off afterwards. We will fight legally," he told reporters.
Advising the AAP government, Pathak asserted that governance, not intimidation, is the only way forward.
"You cannot save a government through such dirty tactics. If you want to retain power, you must work honestly. If you think you can stop us through false and fabricated FIRs, that is not possible. We have stepped out ready to sacrifice everything and will do what is right for the country," he said.
Pathak mentioned that the President assured them that constitutional protections would be upheld.
Taking a swipe at the ruling party, Chadha said its tenure in Punjab is now short-lived. "This government has only a few months left; it will go. They will simply board the Shatabdi and return to Delhi. They have no future in Punjab," he said.
Later, in a post on X, Chadha said that he, along with three other MPs, conveyed to the President how the AAP's Punjab government is misusing state machinery to target them for exercising their constitutional rights.
"The party that once cried vendetta is now practising its most toxic form," he wrote.
"We take strength from the President's assurance that constitutional rights and democratic choices must be respected," he added, while likening the AAP's conduct to that of a "bitter and vindictive" former ally.
