ED attaches assets worth Rs. 1.73 crores in a terror financing case
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Srinagar, Aug 01 (RNA): Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs. 1.73 crores of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and his family members in the case of terror financing by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa) and others. The attached assets consisting of immovable properties worth Rs. 1.48 crores in the name of family members of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and balance available in the Bank Account of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali in Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd, New Delhi worth Rs. 25 lakhs under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002, (PMLA) in the ongoing investigations in the case against Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa), Mohd. Yusuf Shah @ Salahuddin (Head of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen) and others.
ED initiated investigation under PMLA based on Charge Sheet filed by National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Mohd. Yusuf Shah @ Salahuddin, Aftab Ahmad Shah @ Shahid-Ul-Islam, Altaf Ahmad Shah @ Fantoosh, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar @ Bitta Karate, Mohammad Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat @ Peet Saifullah, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Kamran Yusuf and Javed Ahmad Bhat under Section 120B, 121 & 121A of IPC, 1860 read with Section 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39 & 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. Accused Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali has been found to be involved in fund raising and as a financial conduit for Hurriyat Leaders. NIA investigation also discloses that the All Party Hurriyat Conference(APHC) and other secessionists instigate the general public, especially the youth, to observe strikes and issue directives to the masses to hold anti-India protests, demonstrations and processions through press releases, newspapers and social media. The secessionists instigate the masses to resort to violence especially stone-pelting on the security forces at encounter sites and also after the dispersal of Friday prayers. This has been done willfully to create such circumstances which will arouse disaffection among the people of Jammu & Kashmir towards the Government of India.
Investigations under PMLA revealed that the Hurriyat leaders have received funds from Pakistan through conduits and also from the Pakistan High Commission which is reflected in the document seized from the house of Ghulam Mohd. Bhatt during search. Ghulam Mohd. Bhat worked as the cashier-cum-accountant with Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali. This document indicates that Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali was receiving money from Hafiz Saeed (Head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa), from ISI, from the Pakistan High Commission at New Delhi and also from a person based in Dubai. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali was remitting the same to the Hurriyat leaders, separatists and stone-pelters of Jammu &Kashmir.
Investigations under PMLA have resulted in quantification of Proceeds of Crime to the tune of ? 8.94 Crore and all these proceeds of crime have been attached provisionally. Earlier, one immovable property of accused Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, located in Gurugram, worth ? 1.03 Crore was attached. Subsequently, other immovable properties (Land at Sozeith Goripora, Narbal, Budgam, J&K), belonging to Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and his family members, worth ? 6.19 Crores were also attached. Now, these attachments of assets worth Rs. 1.73 crores have been made which is equivalent to the value of foreign remittances received by Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali from unknown sources in Dubai.
Further investigation is under progress. (RNA)