This story is from September 21, 2020

NIA finds overseas money trail in Murshidabad terror arrests

The money trail in Saturday’s Murshidabad arrests has started yielding crucial leads to National Investigation Agency sleuths, who on Sunday continued searches in several places in the district.
NIA finds overseas money trail in Murshidabad terror arrests
BEHRAMPORE: The money trail in Saturday’s Murshidabad arrests has started yielding crucial leads to National Investigation Agency sleuths, who on Sunday continued searches in several places in the district.
An offshore transfer to the bank account of Al Mamun Kamal, one of the nine arrested for suspected links to Pakistan-sponsored module of al-Qaida, is now leading NIA to trace the roots to neighbouring countries.

According to sources, NIA investigators, after going through documents, have come across an offshore transfer of nearly Rs 1.5 lakh to Kamal’s account. While they have not specified the country of origin, sources close to the development said it is a neighbouring one.
NIA has reasons to believe that the “inter-state module of al-Qaida operatives” was mopping up funds from overseas locations while preparing for attacks. Kamal, a resident of Domkal, had worked for some years in Kerala and established a network there.
Over the past few months, NIA managed to plant moles on social media groups used by the nine arrested men. The agency tracked down their movements and kept a tab on their conversations. Each of the nine had been travelling to far flung areas of Murshidabad and meeting people in villages.
After the men were radicalized by “Pakistan-based al-Qaida terrorists”, they started recruiting members for the India module. They also had plans to procure arms and ammunition in New Delhi after lockdown was lifted.

On Sunday, investigators came across a 13ft ditch inside Abu Sufiyan’s home in Raninagar, Murshidabad. A tailor by profession, Sufiyan is a neighbour of Murshid Hassan, the accused who was arrested from Kerala. NIA has reasons to believe that the gang members had plans to store the arms and ammunition procured from New Delhi at Sufiyan’s home. Sufiyan was into religious activities and would not draw suspicion, they believed.
NIA investigators in Kolkata on Sunday interrogated the six persons arrested from Murshidabad. Bengal’s investigating agencies too questioned them during the day. “There is specific information that NIA has got from the accused persons during interrogation. The six arrested persons will be produced in Patiala (House) Courts in New Delhi following the special NIA court order,” said NIA lawyer Shyamal Ghosh.
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