* 2 become approvers in terror funding
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 19: The National Investigating Agency (NIA) today arrested two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists, who were close associates of dreaded Pakistani militant Bahadur Ali, and had been helping Lashkar cadre to infiltrate into the Indian territory from the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla and Kupwara sectors of the Kashmir valley.
The two terrorists were on NIA radar for helping Bahadur Ali and other cadre of the LeT outfit but since their full identity and address was not known to Ali, the NIA had to work a lot to identify and arrest them.
Sources told the Excelsior that both the militants were called for interrogation by the NIA officers at their Sainik Colony office and immediately taken into custody as they turned out to be the same persons, who had figured in the interrogation of Bahadur Ali.
They identified the arrested militants as Zahoor Ahmad Peer and Nazir Ahmad Peer, both resident of village Wahama, Kupwara. They have been booked in a First Information Report (FIR) already registered by the NIA under No. RC-11/2016/NIA/DLI, which pertained to arrest of one of the most wanted Lashkar militant of Pakistan origin, Bahadur Ali.
The NIA is expected to shift both the militants to New Delhi tomorrow for detailed interrogation after taking their transit remand from a Court here.
Sources said Zahoor Ahmed Peer and Nazir Ahmad Peer had provided material and logistic support to Bahadur Ali soon after his infiltration into the Indian territory, which helped Pakistani militant to hide himself and carry out his activities before he was arrested.
Anticipating that the arrested militants might have helped more Lashkar cadre in infiltration and carrying out their activities, sources said it was in this context that both of them were being taken to New Delhi for detailed interrogation to ascertain Lashkar network in Kupwara district especially on the Line of Control.
Bahadur Ali was among very few Pakistani militants, who have been captured alive by security forces during the raids, which had helped security agencies to nail Pakistan’s direct support to militants operating in the Kashmir valley. Bahadur Ali’s case was later handed over to NIA, which had prepared a detailed dossier of Pakistan’s involvement in the militancy on the basis of disclosures made by Ali.
Ali had disclosed as to how Pakistan army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were radicalizing local youth and pushing them into the militancy. He has also mentioned involvement of Lashkar-e-Toiba commanders in training of the militants and helping them infiltrate into the Valley.
“The case against Bahadur Ali has been charge-sheeted whereas further investigations in the case were in progress. During investigations, the role of Zahoor Ahmad Peer and Nazir Ahmad Peer surfaced following which they were kept under surveillance and finally arrested today,” sources said.
They added that delay in the arrest of duo was due to the fact that Bahadur Ali didn’t know their exact identity and arrest but had some clues about them. The clues were pursued and both of them were finally nailed.
In July last year, police in Kashmir had arrested a Pakistani national, Bahadur Ali, from Handwara in North Kashmir and recovered a large quantity of incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, from him. The case was later handed over to the NIA.
In January this year, the NIA had charge-sheeted Ali, a member of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba terror outfit who had been arrested from Yahama village of Handwara on July 24 last year.
The charge sheet highlighted gaps along the Line of Control (LoC) as Ali along with two other terrorists had walked undetected for seven days.
The NIA said Ali alias Saifullah Mansoor along with two associates, Abu Saad and Abu Darda, all trained terrorists, infiltrated into Indian territory equipped with arms and ammunition, navigation equipment, combat material and other articles.
The trio entered India during the intervening night of June 12-13 last year and reached their destination only around June 20. The area is expected to be dotted by security personnel as part of counter-infiltration grid.
On June 22, Ali’s two associates left to get some food, leaving Ali on a hill top. Both were killed in an encounter.
According to the NIA charge sheet, investigation had established that Ali, who is a school dropout and originally a resident of Jia Bagga village of Raiwind in Lahore, Pakistan, was also provided a map depicting parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).
He was provided with Grid References (GR) that had been recovered from his possession. Ali plotted these GRs on the map which was sent for examination to the Surveyor General of India at Dehradun who affirmed that the terrorist had plotted them correctly.
A pocket diary recovered from Ali, among other things, listed the names of several towns in Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the NIA has secured recorded confessional statements on the flow of money, especially from Pakistan, from two persons accused in a case related to the funding of terror activities in Kashmir, sources said.
The statements made before a Judicial Magistrate had tightened the case against separatists who allegedly funded stone-pelters and spread unrest in the Valley, they added.
While one has been formally arrested, the other was detained and subsequently let off after he said he would turn approver, sources said, declining to divulge their names.
The former, arrested on July 24 this year after his house was raided by the Central probe agency, approached NIA sleuths, giving his consent for recording his confessional statement.
He gave a detailed account of how funds were sent from Pakistan-based terror organizations as well as its external snooping agency ISI to separatists based in the Valley.
The other person who has recorded his confessional statement is a close aide of pro-Pakistan separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
A confessional statement is recorded before a Judicial Magistrate. The accused confirms in it that he or she is giving a statement without any pressure from the probe agency.
The entire process is videographed and no investigation officer is present in the court premises during the proceedings. In case of retraction later, the agency can file a case of perjury.
The NIA has arrested 10 people so far in connection with alleged funding of terror activities case. The list included Altaf Ahmed Shah, the son-in-law of Geelani, and noted businessman Zahoor Watali.
Geelani’s close aides Ayaz Akbar, who is also spokesperson of the hardline separatist organization Tehreek- e-Hurriyat and Peer Saifullah have been also been arrested.
Others in the list are Shahid-ul-Islam, spokesperson of the moderate Hurriyat Conference, Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmed Dar alias ‘Bitta Karate’, photo-journalist Kamran Yusuf and Javed Ahmed Bhat.
The NIA had registered a case on May 30 against the separatist and secessionist leaders, including unknown members of the Hurriyat Conference, who have been acting in connivance with active militants of proscribed terrorist organizations Hizbul Mujahideen, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and other outfits and gangs, officials said.
The case was registered for raising, receiving and collecting funds through various illegal means, including hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and for causing disruption in the Valley by way of pelting stones on the security forces, burning schools, damaging public property and waging war against India.
Hafiz Saeed, the Pakistan-based chief of the Jamaat-ud- Dawa, the front of the banned terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused.
The FIR also named organizations such as the two factions of the Hurriyat, one led by Geelani and the other Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Dukhtaran-e-Millat, an all-women outfit of separatists.
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