NEW DELHI, Dec 3: A Delhi court has taken cognisance of the charge sheet filed by NIA against banned terror outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) chief Syed Salahuddin and others for allegedly receiving funds of about Rs.80 crore from Pakistan for carrying out terror activities across India.
District Judge I S Mehta has taken cognisance of the charge sheet filed against 10 accused. Of them, eight are based in Pakistan and have been declared proclaimed offenders by the court.
They have been chargesheeted for the offences punishable under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121-A (conspiring to commit certain offences against the state) of the IPC and under various provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The court has now fixed the matter for December 7 for further proceedings.
The NIA, in its 62-page charge sheet, alleged that HM was “regularly receiving funds from neighbouring country” and the funds were given to “active terrorists, families of killed terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.”
It said about Rs 80 crore was received for terror activities in India in the past eight years and the funds continued to come from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The NIA also said that “in the garb of one Jammu Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust (JKART), the terror outfit is actively involved in furthering the terrorist activities in India.”
Besides Salahuddin, the NIA has chargesheeted Mohd Shafi Shah, Talib Lali, Gulam Nabi Khan, Umer Farooq Shera, Manzoor Ahmed Dar, Zaffar Hussain Bhatt, Nazir Ahamd Dar, Abdul Majeed Sofi and Mubarak Shah.
Out of the 10 accused, who all are active members of HM, Mohd Shafi Shah and Talib Lali, both hailing from J-K, were arrested by the NIA and are presently in jail under judicial custody.
The NIA, in its charge sheet, said that head office of JKART is in Rawalpindi in Pakistan and its branch offices are in Islamabad and Muzaffarabad.
It said that the money reaches India through hawala route and banking channels and are distributed through the conduits not only in Jammu and Kashmir but also in Delhi and other parts of the country.
“Investigation conducted so far in the instant case has revealed that different channels operate for the transfer of terror funds from HM/JKART Pakistan to active HM cadres and other beneficiaries in the state of J-K to further terrorist activities and wage war against India.
“The hawala route, banking channels, human couriers and of late, the cross border trade are identified as some of the mediums for such funding from across the border,” it said.
Giving details of the banned terror outfit, the NIA said HM has established its main office at Islamabad in Pakistan while JKART is its “frontal organisation”.
“Investigation has revealed that in furtherance of the said criminal conspiracy, Markazi-e-Shura of HM, a top body of its decision making, in the year 1999 in a meeting chaired by Mohd Syed Salahuddin…In connivance with the agencies of Government of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, including but not limited to Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), founded a trust namely JKART, a frontal organisation of HM, with the object to systematically receive, collect and raise funds from different sources in Pakistan and other countries,” it said.
“…In the garb of relief for rehabilitation of affected persons (called affectees by HM) in state of J-K for furthering terrorist activities in India. Investigation has established that funds so raised by JKART are used by HM to foster terrorist activities by its cadres in J-K,” the NIA said.
JKART also received funds from another trust ‘Relief Organisation for Kashmiri Muslims (ROKM)’ founded for rehabilitation of migrant Kashmiri Muslims in Pakistan and POK, it said, adding JKART and ROKM are primarily funded by Pakistan government and its agencies.
The NIA also said that active terrorists of HM, who have crossed over to Pakistan in the garb of traders, are also involved in trade across the LoC and misuse it for sending money and weapons to Indian side from PoK and Pakistan and some truck drivers are also involved in it.
“Investigation has revealed that HM is exploiting the barter system of trade in vogue at the trans-border trade to pump funds for terrorist activities,” it said.
NIA also said that the HM’s modus operandi is to “under invoice the goods sent from across PoK/Pakistan. Indian counterparts send equivalent goods as per barter system and the extra money generated in this exchange is collected by HM from the traders in India.”
It also said that these funds are received by HM cadres known as “relief takers” and on the basis of evidence, “it is established that around 263 individuals based in PoK who are assigned the work of relief takers in Pakistan/PoK” are active terrorists of HM.
The charge sheet also said that these 263 relief takers had obtained Rs 2.09 crore from JKART for further distribution among 673 beneficiaries.
Regarding the money paid to the cadres of HM, the NIA said their “monthly remuneration has increased from Rs 2000-3000 per month in 1990s to Rs 10,000-12,000 per month in 2011.”
Detailing the roles of the accused, it said that they were in constant touch with each other through phone calls and e-mails and they have obtained various call detail records to show their complicity in the entire conspiracy.
It also said that identity of the eight absconding accused has been established on the basis of voices intercepted in telephonic conversations.
Along with the charge sheet, the NIA has named 204 persons as prosecution witnesses in the case and a list of 130 sets of documents have also been filed in the court. (PTI)
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