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.
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Punjab: Blast near army cantt area in Amritsar, hours after explosion in Jalandhar
Chandigarh (PTI): An explosion occurred near the army cantonment area in Khasa late Tuesday night in Punjab's Amritsar, the second such incident which took place around three hours after a blast outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar.
According to the police, an investigation into both blast incidents is currently underway, and no injuries have been reported.
The first explosion happened around 8 pm in Jalandhar, while the second blast occurred at approximately 11 pm in Amritsar.
Amritsar (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Suhail Mir Qasim stated that police received reports of a loud sound at around 11 pm on a road in Khasa. "Our teams arrived on the scene immediately," he said.
Preliminary inspections indicated that someone had thrown an explosive device towards the boundary wall, leading to the explosion, according to the SSP.
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Police mentioned that a piece of a tin sheet covering the boundary wall had fallen as a result of the blast.
Following the explosion, a team of forensic and bomb disposal squad visited the site to collect samples.
Amritsar Rural Superintendent of Police Aditya S. Warrier, who also visited the scene, confirmed that further investigations are ongoing. Police added that a team of army officials also assessed the situation, after which the area was cordoned off.
CCTV footage from the vicinity shows the explosion occurring at night. A local villager reported that his family was awakened by the loud sound and came outside their home to see what had happened.
Before the Amritsar explosion, a blast took place outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar district around 8 pm on Tuesday, causing panic in the area.
CCTV footage captured the explosion, which resulted in a cloud of smoke. An unidentified man was seen running for cover following the blast.
The blast ripped apart a scooter, damaged a traffic signal pole and windowpanes of a nearby shop. Locals recounted that the scooter, which was parked outside the BSF headquarters, Punjab Frontier, caught fire shortly after a loud sound. It belonged to Gurpreet Singh, who regularly delivers parcels in the area.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday night, one of Gurpreet's relatives said that the scooter caught fire as he was approaching it. He immediately called his father and informed him about the incident.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur confirmed to reporters late Tuesday that an Activa scooter parked near the gate caught fire suddenly. She stated that Gurpreet is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Witnesses nearby reported hearing a loud sound following the explosion.
On April 27, an explosion occurred at a freight corridor rail track in Shambhu in Patiala. Police had arrested four members of a pro-Khalistan terror module, backed by Pakistan's ISI, for the blast.
In light of these incidents, opposition parties have condemned the AAP government for its handling of the situation.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, over the recent blasts.
"Three blasts in 10 days, two in a single day, May 5: Jalandhar outside BSF headquarters and Sri Amritsar Sahib Army area, April 27: Rajpura rail track. Continued intelligence failures and the collapse of law and order are a matter of grave concern. Chief Minister @BhagwantMann, who is also the state Home Minister, is busy with mimicry and cheap politics. He has forfeited the right to remain in office," Badal said in a post on X.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also slammed the Mann government over the two blasts.
"Back-to-back blasts have shaken Punjab. Yesterday in Jalandhar, and now near Khasa Camp in Amritsar, this is deeply alarming. Who is trying to destabilise our state? Why has the Punjab Government failed to prevent such incidents? What is the Government of India doing? Repeated lapses point to a serious breakdown of intelligence and security. Punjab's peace cannot be compromised. We demand accountability and immediate action," Warring said in a post on X.
