Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 6: The Enforcement Directorate today arrested Mohammad Aslam Wani, an alleged hawala dealer, in connection with its about a decade-old money laundering case against Kashmiri separatist Shabir Shah from Srinagar, the summer capital of the State.
This is the second arrest by the Enforcement Directorate of separatist leader Shabir Shah in the money laundering case while the National Investigating Agency (NIA) had arrested seven separatists in connection with terror funding.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Wani was arrested from Srinagar by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) with the help of the State police.
Immediately after his arrest, Wani was flown to New Delhi for remand and interrogation in the case.
In the afternoon, Delhi court sent Wani to ED custody till August 14.
He was produced before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass, who allowed the probe agency to interrogate him in custody.
A Sessions Court in New Delhi had issued an open-ended Non-bailable Warrant (NBW) against Wani yesterday after the ED told the court he had not joined the probe.
An open-ended NBW, unlike the NBW, does not carry a time limit for its execution.
ED’s Special Public Prosecutor N K Matta told the court that Wani was required to be confronted with Shah, who is also in the agency’s custody, in connection with the case.
The counsel sought 14 days’ custody saying that new information had surfaced during Shah’s interrogation.
Shah, now in ED custody, was similarly arrested by the agency from Srinagar on July 26.
The ED action against the two is in pursuance of an August 2005 case, wherein the Delhi Police’s Special Cell had arrested Wani, dealer, who had claimed that he passed on Rs 2.25 crore to Shah.
In 2010, a Delhi court had cleared Wani of terror funding charges but had convicted him under the Arms Act.
The ED had registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Shah and Wani.
Wani was arrested allegedly with Rs 63 lakh, received through ‘hawala’ channels from the Middle East, and a large cache of ammunition, on August 26, 2005.
During questioning, he had told the police that Rs 50 lakh was to be delivered to Shah and Rs 10 lakh to Jaish-e- Mohammad area commander in Srinagar, Abu Baqar, and that the rest was his commission.
Wani, who hails from Srinagar, had also claimed that he delivered around Rs 2.25 crore to Shah and his kin in multiple installments over the past year.
The ED, sources said, wants to probe the “proceeds of crime” of alleged terror financing in this case.
Meanwhile, sources said, Shabir Shah’s wife Bilquees has also been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate to ascertain certain facts including income of the family, her salary etc. Shah’s wife is a doctor.
The questioning lasted four hours after which Shah’s wife was asked by the Enforcement Directorate to again appear before after few days.
Sources said Bilquees has told the ED that she would require the permission of the Health Department for appearing again before the investigating agency.
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