Srinagar, Aug 06: The counter-intelligence wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police has unmasked a major terror funding network in Delhi and arrested two persons in an operation targeting the financial arteries of the proscribed outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the agency said on Wednesday.
In a major breakthrough, the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) struck deep into the financial underbelly of terrorism, conducting swift and surgical raids in a business unit titled ‘Shalimar Textiles’ in Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi, an agency spokesman said.
The raids were aimed at dismantling a sophisticated cross-border terror-funding syndicate, he said.
The raids were backed by legal sanction through search warrants issued by a special judge designated under the NIA Act in Srinagar, and were part of a wider investigation under UAPA sections 13, 38, 39, 40 r/w 120-B of IPC, the spokesman said.
The case unravelled a chilling conspiracy orchestrated by Let handlers and commanders FROM across the LoC, who in connivance with Pakistani nationals settled in Gulf nations and other foreign territories are pumping terror money into the heart of Kashmir through a network of couriers disguised as pilgrims, businessmen, and expatriates, he said.
The spokesman said it came to light that Mohammad Ayoub Bhat, a resident of J-K’s Budgam, who operated a business establishment titled ‘Shalimar Textiles’ in Lajpat Nagar, was masquerading as a legitimate trader while acting as a key financial conduit for LeT’s terror activities in the Valley.
“Working hand in glove with him was Mohammad Rafiq Shah, a resident of the Bemina area in Srinagar, who along with Bhat were at the nerve centre of this covert financial operation,” he said.
Digital evidence, including suspicious communications with Pakistani handlers, foreign remittances routed through underground ‘hawala’ networks, and encrypted chats with terror affiliates were seized during the raids, the spokesman said.
The devices and documents are being forensically analysed and are expected to blow the lid off a larger, deeply entrenched funding web, he said.
Acting on confessions and technical leads, CIK teams along with Delhi Police searched the premises in Lajpat Nagar, recovering vital documentary and electronic evidence which are expected to fuel the next stage of this high-profile investigation, the spokesman said.
“Initial interrogation of the arrested individuals has already begun, peeling back layers of an international terror financing ring involving foreign-based handlers, Gulf-based sympathisers, and local over ground workers (OGWs) — all connected through a covert cash pipeline aimed at fomenting unrest and bloodshed in J-K,” he said.
“This operation marks a critical turning point in India’s war on terror financing, and the trail uncovered today is likely to trigger further nationwide crackdowns in the days to come,” he added.
