Delhi court issues arrest warrant against LeT chief Hafiz Saeed in terror funding case

By PTI
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday issued an arrest warrant against Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief and 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed in a money laundering case related to terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir.

Besides issuing the non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Saeed, Special Judge Praveen Singh also issued warrants against three co-accused – Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, separatist Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Funtoosh and businessman from the UAE Naval Kishore Kapoor – who are currently lodged in the Tihar central jail here, seeking their production before the court.

The court passed the direction while taking cognisance of a chargesheet filed in the matter by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged money laundering. The judge also issued summons to the representatives of Watali’s company M/s Trison Farms and Construction Pvt Ltd, which has also been named as accused in the matter.

Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana, appearing for the ED, told the court that the accused hatched a criminal conspiracy to carry out subversive and secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

The accused established a network of cadres who were funded through Pakistani agencies via hawala dealers and local conduits by raising funds through local donations and funds have also been received from abroad, Rana told the court.

The ED had filed a case based on an NIA matter against Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen leader Syed Salahuddin and others for “conspiring to wage war against the government” and fomenting trouble in the Kashmir Valley.

The separatist leaders have been accused of taking a cut before handing over the money to generate trouble.

Saeed has also been accused of using the services of Watali for passing on the money to the separatists and some individuals who were actively indulging in stone-pelting in various areas of the Valley, the ED said in the charge sheet.

In the NIA’s case, besides Saeed, Salahuddin and Watali, the agency had also named hardline pro-Pakistan separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s son-in-law Altaf Shah alias Altaf Fantoosh, Bashir Ahmad Bhat and Javed Ahmad Bhat as accused.