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| NIA stumbles upon ''evidence'' of terror funding through cross-LoC trade during DySP case probe | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Feb 16: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has stumbled upon "evidence" of funding of terror groups through cross-border trade during its probe into the case of Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh who was caught escorting militants out of Kashmir Valley, officials said on Sunday.
The officials said NIA investigators grilled self-styled commander of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen terror group Syed Naveed Mushtaq Ahmed alias Naveed Babu, who was caught with Singh, about the funding of the organisation and the way they had been in touch with their masters in Pakistan.
The agency has stumbled upon "evidence" of terror financing through cross-LoC trade during Naveed Babu''s questioning, they said.
The NIA had registered a case against unknown people in connection with the trade across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in 2016 and carried out raids at trade facilitation centres in Salamabad in Kashmir’s Baramulla district and Chakan-da-bagh in Poonch district of Jammu.
During its probe in the past four years, the NIA had been unable to find the final beneficiary of the money received from traders, the officials said, adding that after Naveed''s questioning the agency had got a vital link.
The officials said that some more people were likely to be picked up for questioning in the case as the probe in the DySP''s case has brought the four-year-old case to focus.
Recently LoC trade organisation president Tanveer Ahmed Wani was arrested by the NIA and was being questioned.
The cross-LoC trade, started in 2008 as a confidence building measure between India and Pakistan, was stopped in April last year by the Centre citing "funnelling of illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency".
"The action has been taken after reports that the cross-LoC trade routes are being misused by Pakistan-based elements for funnelling illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency, etc.," the government had said then.
The officials said that they did not rule out the possibility of arrested police officer Singh having knowledge about the funding pattern through trade as he had been associated with Naveed Babu for long.
Singh was arrested last month along with Naveed, Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Rafi Ahmed Rather and Irfan Shafi Mir, who claims to be an advocate. He is at present in judicial custody.
The officials said that if need be Singh and others could be summoned in connection with the LoC trade case as well.
Meanwhile, Mir had arranged for the militants to be transported to Jammu and subsequently to be exfiltrated to PoK
The security grid in Jammu and Kashmir was shaken up by the arrest of DSP Davinder Singh who was caught while transporting two Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorists -- Naveed Babu and Rafi Ahmed -- and a lawyer Irfan Shafi Mir in a vehicle on January 11.
But, as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) delved deeper into the conspiracy, it found that Davinder Singh was only a "mercenary". Instead of the DSP, Irfan Ahmed Mir, a law school dropout, is emerging as the key man behind the operation post-interrogation.
Agencies have revealed that Irfan was the one who travelled to Pakistan at least five times. His passport showed that he had travelled via the legal route during which time he visited the Hizb office and met the top leadership of the terrorist organisation.
Irfan's social media profile reads: "Always be rock-solid to meet any challenge". Rishte kabhi kudarati maut nahi marte, unko hamesha insaan qatal karta (Relationships do not die naturally, they are murdered by humans)".
Irfan is no ordinary catch. His father Shafi Mir was a top Hizb commander in the 1990s, with the current HM chief Syed Salahuddin as his bodyguard.
Irfan told NIA that he suspected that his "late father" was killed in an encounter after someone from the terror module leaked his presence. However, despite feeling betrayed by Hizb, he continued to be in touch with the leadership in PoK.
NIA sources said that Irfan had met the entire leadership of the Hizb. He went to look for the grave of his father, who later gained a cult status among HM and the Jamaat sections in Pakistan and parts of Kashmir.
Irfan Shafi Mir, a resident of Diaroo in Shopian, was the common link between Davinder Singh and dreaded Hizb leader Naveed Babu.
Mir had arranged for the militants to be transported to Jammu and subsequently to be exfiltrated to PoK.
However, Davinder Singh, who was paid a hefty sum for the high-risk assignment, told NIA that he wanted to extract money from the module and later would have earned brownie points with J&K Police after tipping them off and getting them eliminated.
Irfan's phone book also gave away contacts of two-dozen numbers of various terrorists and over-ground-workers (OGW). Some of them are said to be 'most wanted' in NIA cases.
His social media profile shows that he was following a mix of journalists, Bollywood actors and the official account of the Jammu and Kashmir Police
According to sources Babu, Ahmed and Mir had planned to travel to Pakistan after reaching Jammu. After Singh's arrest, along with Irfan Shafi Mir and two Hizb terrorist, the J&K police conducted multiple raids at the DSP's residence. So far six people have been arrested in the case. |
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