by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : The NIA on Friday told a court here that it will file next week a chargesheet in the case of terror funding in the Kashmir Valley as a court extended till January 18 the judicial custody of seven Kashmiri separatists and a businessman.
According to court sources, during the in-camera proceedings, the National Investigation Agency told Additional Sessions Judge Tarun Sherawat that the final report in the case will be filed next week.
“The investigation of the case is at concluding stage and the evidence on record is being summed up,” NIA said.
The agency urged the court to extend the judicial custody of the eight accused for another seven days. The court did so, via video conferencing.
The eight have been charged with receiving funds from Pakistan to sponsor terror activities and stone-pelting in Jammu and Kashmir.
On July 24, 2017, the NIA arrested seven of them — 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 — on charges of criminal conspiracy and waging war against India.
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. Islam is a close aide of moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Khandey is the spokesperson for the Geelani-led Hurriyat.
Businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, accused of acting as a conduit for channelling funds for separatists and terror activities in the Kashmir Valley, was arrested on August 17 last year.
He was allegedly collecting funds from Pakistan and banned terrorist organisations and transferring the same to Hurriyat leaders.
Watali is known to be friends with Pakistani leaders as well as separatists, besides leading politicians in Kashmir, the NIA said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Mumbai : A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here on Wednesday dropped charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Ramesh Upadhyay and Ajay Rahikar in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
While the court dropped all charges under Section 17, 20 and 13 of the the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act, it however, decided that Sadhvi Pragya and Purohit will be tried under Section 18 of the former act as well as Sections 120B, 302, 307, 304, 326, 427 and 153 A of the Indian Penal Code.
All the accused persons are already out on bail, though all previous bonds and sureties will continue, the special NIA court said.
The next date of hearing has been scheduled for January 15.
The court refused to exonerate Sadhvi Pragya from the charges of conspiracy, holding that she was aware about a motorcycle being used to carry out the explosion.
On Monday, the court had dismissed the petitions filed by Purohit and another accused Sameer Kulkarni, challenging the sanction of prosecution under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and 101 people injured after a bomb tied to a motorcycle exploded in Nashik’s Malegaon town. The Maharashtra Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad had arrested 11 people in the case in November 2008. In April 2011, the investigation was transferred to the NIA.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : After Interpol on Saturday refused to issue a red corner notice (RCN) against controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said it will submit a fresh request for the same.
“NIA’s request for Red Notice against Zakir Naik was not accepted by Interpol as chargesheet had not been filed when the request was submitted to the Interpol headquarters. Now NIA will submit a fresh request to Interpol as chargesheet has already been filed in the NIA court concerned in Mumbai,” an NIA official said.
In a statement, Naik’s spokesperson said: “Interpol has cancelled red corner notice on Dr Naik and instructed its worldwide offices to delete all data from files on him, citing political and religious bias among other reasons.”
“The Interpol contended that there was a severe lack of evidentiary basis, a failure by Indian authorities to follow due process of law, political and religious bias that formed the basis of such a notice, and lack of international interest,” he added.
It also said: The Interpol’s Commission found after thorough examination that the request from the Indian NCB was not compliant with Interpol’s rules and thus decided the Indian government’s request for Red Corner notice should be cancelled.”
The Indian government had banned Naik and his organisation Islamic Research Foundation for five years and declaring it an unlawful organisation.
Naik is also accused of spreading hatred through his speeches, funding terror groups and laundering money. The NIA last year had registered a criminal case against him.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
By Anand Singh,
New Delhi/Patna : The NIA, which arrested suspected LeT operative Abdul Naeem Sheikh from Uttar Pradesh last month, has summoned a District Transport Officer (DTO) of Bihar for his alleged links with the terrorist, an official said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Sheikh alias Nomi, 37, on November 28 from Charbagh bus stand in Lucknow in a joint operation with the Uttar Pradesh Police’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).
The NIA official, on condition of anonymity, told IANS they have summoned a DTO officer, identified as Diwakar Jha, posted in Bihar’s Buxar district, for questioning over his alleged links with Sheikh.
According to the NIA official, Jha had inaugurated Sheikh’s coaching centre in Bihar’s Gopalganj district in 2015, when he was posted there.
The official said the anti-terror probe agency has recovered some pictures of Jha with Sheikh.
Sheikh, who is said to have done a recce of army and power installations in Jammu and Kashmir, was caught after he applied for a passport under a fictitious name.
The NIA official said that security agencies stumbled upon a lead to Sheikh after a man complained that his address was being used by the LeT operative for his passport.
“He had applied for a passport on the address of Sarraj Ahmed, a resident of Gopalganj’s Jungalia area in Ward No 19.”
“But before he could get his passport in hand, Ahmed approached police and complained about it,” the official said.
“He got his Pan card and Aadhaar card, which were also made on the same address under the name of Sheikh Sohail Khan,” the official said.
“Sheikh resided in Gopalganj till March 2017,” he added.
Sheikh was hiding in Bihar’s Gopalganj district by changing his name after escaping from the custody of central agencies in August 2014.
The suspected LeT operative was wanted by security agencies in various cases, including the Mumbai train attacks of 2006-2007.
He was earlier nabbed by security agencies at that time and was under trial. In August 2014, he managed to give the slip to security agencies and escaped when he was being taken from Dum Dum Central jail (Kolkata) to Mumbai to appear in court. He fled while the train was passing through the thick forests of Chhattisgarh.
After fleeing from custody, Sheikh established a new sleeper cell under instruction from his LeT handler Amjad, the official said.
The case has been handed over to the NIA for further probe.
On December 2, the NIA has arrested a youth leader Dhannu Raja from Gopalganj for his alleged links with Sheikh.
Sheikh is also an accused in the Aurangabad arms haul case and was arrested by the West Bengal police in 2007 while entering India from Bangladesh along with two Pakistanis and one Kashmiri.
Security agencies have dubbed Sheikh as “David Coleman Headley” as he had been following in his footprints and did reconnaissance of similar areas.
Pakistani-American Headley is serving a 35-year prison sentence in the US for his involvement in terror activities and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks of 2008.
(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in )
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Syed Salahuddin
New Delhi : The NIA on Thursday carried out searches at the residence of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in Kashmir valley in connection with a six-year-old terror funding case.
An NIA official told IANS, “The agency carried out searches at the residence of Shahid in Soibugh village of Budgam district early in the morning today (Thursday) which has concluded now.”
“We have seized mobile phones, laptops, hard disks and several incriminating documents.”
The raid comes two days after the counter-terror probe agency arrested Shahid, 42, a state government employee, in Delhi after he was called for questioning at its headquarters in a 2011 terror funding case that pertains to terror money sent through hawala channels by militants based in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to Jammu and Kashmir to instigate terrorist activities.
The NIA has alleged that Shahid over the years has been receiving and collecting funds through international wire money transfer from Hizbul Mujahideen militant Aijaz Bhat, a Srinagar resident now based in Saudi Arabia.
Shahid even during his questioning admitted to have received funds from the members of Hizbul Mujahideen on the direction of his father. He had also revealed the names of his associates abroad associated with the Hizbul Mujahideen and involved in raising, collecting and transferring funds from abroad to India.
After his arrest, the NIA said Shahid was one of Aijaz Bhat’s several contacts who were in telephonic touch “to receive the money transfer codes”. The money was meant to fund Hizbul Mujahideen’s militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
The NIA had filed two chargesheets against six accused in the case in 2011. Four of them – Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, one of the closest aides of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mohammed Sidiq Ganai, Ghulam Jeelani Liloo and Farooq Ahmad Dagga – are currently in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
Two of the accused, Mohammad Maqbool Pandit and Aijaz Bhat, are on the run and have been declared proclaimed offenders. Pandit, like Aijaz Bhat, has been an active Hizbul Mujahideen militant and is currently based in Pakistan.
Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, Ganai, Liloo and Dagga were arrested on January 22, 2011, and Rs 21.20 lakh was recovered from them.
After their arrest, Aijaz Bhat used to send money to Shahid.
The Hizbul Mujahideen chief’s son, according to an NIA official, received at least four instalments of money in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
—IANS
