Author: Staff Reporter
Publication: Afternoon Despatch & Courier
Date: January 17, 2006
URL: http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress&subsection=news&xfile=January2006_news_standard2597
Introduction: Arrest of Imam leading to big
financier in city...
The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Mumbai
Police is concerned to find out that some big source in the city has been
financing Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operations. Crores of rupees have gone from
Mumbai to the terrorist organisation's base in Jammu & Kashmir. Ironically,
this same money was pumped by the LeT into terror operations it intended to
launch in Mumbai. Investigations and interrogations of the four LeT terrorists
arrested last week by the ATS have revealed that the money has been going
through hawala channels and even through various bank transactions.
According to the ATS, it was Mohammad Abdul
Ramzan Kazi who used to go to Kashmir with the cash delivery. Haj House Imam
Maulana Ghulam Ali Baksh Yahya, who was arrested on Saturday for his role
in the conspiracy, has admitted that Kazi used to take the money to J&K.
The Imam said on one such occasion he had arranged for higher denomination
notes which would be easier for Kazi to carry. The Imam used to arrange Kazi's
stay in Mumbai, sometimes even at Haj House. Sources revealed that the money
was used for buying arms and ammunition from across the border.
The investigating team is trying to find out
the source of the money in the city. Kazi, a fruit dealer, told the police
that the money he used to send was from the earnings out of his business.
However, the police believe that someone big enough to finance crores of rupees
is behind all the LeT activities in the city. ATS officials believe that there
is more than one team of LeT terrorists active in the city. These groups are
working separately but are well organised and hardly cross each other's way
in an operation.
Meanwhile, the Intelligence Bureau is doing
a parallel investigation in the matter and finding out the arrested Imam's
link with Bangladesh. The Imam had said that he hails from 24 Parganas in
West Bengal and had come to Mumbai in 1994. However, the investigating agencies
have not ruled out that he has come from across the border.
