Non-bailable warrants against Hafiz, 3 others in terror funding case
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Muhammad Hafiz Saeed, Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, separatist Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Funtoosh and businessman from the UAE Naval Kishore Kapoor, while taking cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s money-laundering charges in a Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case.
Watali’s company M/s Trison Farms and Construction Pvt Ltd has also been arrayed as accused by the court while issuing the NBWs.
While Hafiz Saeed, who is the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, moves around freely in Pakistan and enjoys the patronage of its spy agency -- ISI -- Watali, Funtoosh and Kapoor are lodged in Tihar jail.
ED’s special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana submitted in the court of special judge National Investigation Agency (NIA) Praveen Singh at Patiala House Courts that “Watali was receiving money from Hafiz Saeed (Founder of Jamaat-udDawa and its military arm LeT) and ISI as well as Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, which was further remitted to the Hurriyat leaders, separatists and stone-throwers in the Kashmir valley”. Naval Kishore Kapoor mobilised funds from unknown sources in Dubai and remitted the same to Watali and
his company Trison Farms and Construction Pvt Ltd, according to Rana.
The anti-money-laundering probe agency launched a probe under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the J&K terror funding on the basis of an NIA charge sheet against Saeed and others in 2018. It has already attached properties close to worth Rs 8 crore belonging to Watali so far.
In its charge sheet in 2018, NIA said that a former Pakistani prime minister (without naming the person) wrote a letter to Watali, which was recovered from the latter’s residence during raids. NIA also recovered from his place a list of ISI officials, according to officials.
Both NIA and ED have said in their official court documents, reviewed by HT, that Saeed and another UN-listed terrorist, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, Pakistan and its agencies provided funds via Dubai by using bogus transactions carried out in several companies for terror activities in J&K.
Subsequently, funds came through transfers from bank account of certain individuals, hawala, LoC (Line of Control) barter trade by under-invoicing of goods and bogus companies floated abroad, officials say.
“A threadbare scrutiny and analysis of documents and digital devices seized by it established that the Hurriyat leaders, terrorists and stone pelters were carrying out terrorist attacks, orchestrating violence, stone pelting and other subversive and secessionist activities in the state as part of wellplanned criminal conspiracy hatched with the active support, connivance and funding from terrorist organisations based in Pakistan and its agencies to achieve their objective of secession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir by waging war against the Government of India,” NIA said.
“The secessionist leaders belonging to All Parties Hurriyat Conference have established a network of cadres throughout Kashmir valley who incite the youth to attack all symbols of Indian sovereignty, especially Indian security forces. Acting under the overall guidance of and instructions from Hafiz Saeed and Salahuddin and their ‘Pakistani handlers’, the separatists form strategies and action plans to launch violent protests and communicate the same to the masses in the form of ‘protest calendars’, released through newspapers, social media and religious leaders, creating an “atmosphere of terror and fear in J&K”, it added.
HT could not locate Watali and other accused person’s legal representatives on Saturday.