Politics Insight News Without Politics
(Pi Bureau)
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday arrested Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in connection with a money laundering case against him for alleged terror funding.
ED Officials said Shah was arrested in Srinagar and is expected to be brought to Delhi on Wednesday noon.
Earlier ,the Enforcement Directorate had issued multiple summons to Shah, but he never appeared before the central investigating agency. A Delhi court had earlier this month issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against the separatist leader.
“The warrant has been executed,” a senior official said. The agency had issued several summons to Shah over the last few years in pursuance of the August 2005 case, wherein the Delhi Police’s Special Cell had arrested Mohammed Aslam Wani (35), an alleged hawala dealer, who had claimed that he passed on Rs 2.25 crore to Shah.
Shah in the past had said that the ED case against him was “politically motivated”. 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.
