Terror funding racket: Three more arrested in Mumbai

LUCKNOW Three more persons, including two Nigerian nationals, were arrested fin Mumbai by the UP Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Thursday in the alleged terror funding racket unearthed after the arrest of four people from Lakhimpur Kheri on October 11, said senior police officials.

ADG (ATS) DK Thakur said those arrested from Mumbai were identified as Chinweduba Emeka Michael, Peter Herman Assenga, both Nigeria residents, and a Mumbai resident Arjun Ashok Kharade. In the past few years, the trio had allegedly transferred over ₹20 crore illegally to different bank accounts, he said.

Thakur said the involvement of the three arrested from Mumbai surfaced during interrogation of the people arrested earlier from Lakhimpur Kheri.

All three were suspected of transferring multi-crore funds to different people illegally and would be quizzed after being brought to Lucknow.

On October 11, four people identified as Umed Ali, Sanjay Agarwal, Araz Ali, all residents of Kheri and Sameer Salmani of Bareilly were arrested from Kheri.

Lakhimpur Kheri police arrested them for allegedly channelising money from Nepal into Indian territory for terror activities.

The police had recovered ₹4.75 lakh (Indian currency), ₹1.35 lakh (Nepalese currency) and four cell phones from them at the time of their arrest.

On October 17, two more key accused, Sirajudeen and Faheem, were arrested from their hideouts in Bareilly while two others, Sadaqat and Mumtaz Ahmad, surrendered before the Kheri court after the arrest of six people in the case.

During probe it also came to light that Nepal Rastra Bank, Janakpur branch, was hacked and ₹ 49 lakh (Nepalese currency) was transferred into back accounts of Vijay Singh and Chandra Budda in Krishi Vikas Bank, district Kailali, Nepal.

Both Singh and Budda were earlier arrested by the Nepalese police in Nepal.

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