Bihar: Afghan nationals held in Katihar taken on remand

PATNA: The five Afghan nationals, who were arrested from Katihar On December 16, were taken on police remand for interrogation on Friday.
They were lodged in a separate cell of Purnia central jail for security reasons. Katihar SP Vikas Kumar said the foreign nationals were taken on 48-hour remand on the directive of the court. “The officials of the district police and other intelligence agencies are interrogating them,” he said.
Earlier, police searched the rented house of the arrested Afghan nationals at Choudhari Tola and seized some incriminating documents.“The house was sealed in the presence of a magistrate,” the SP added. The sixth Afghan national identified as Alman Khan and the owner of the house, Md Monazir, are still evading arrest. “Raids are on to apprehend the absconding accused,” Katihar DSP Amar Kant Jha said.
Purnia deputy jail superintendent Mritunjay Kumar said, “We have received an order from a Katihar court on Thursday for handing over the arrested Afghan nationals to police on remand. We complied with the order of the court concerned.”
Initial interrogation of the arrested foreigners had revealed that they were staying in Katihar for about five years and engaged in money laundering in different districts of the Seemanchal region.
Evidences of money transactions through hawala were also found during investigation. “The anti-terrorism squad of the state police is trying to ascertain their role in funding sleeper cells of a banned terror outfit,” an investigating officer said.
The Katihar police officials are also in touch with their counterparts in Guwahati to gather more information about Md. Kamran, who had lived there for a while before shifting his base to Katihar. “We will send a team from Katihar to Assam, if required,” Katihar SP revealed.
Kamran was among the five Afghan nationals arrested from Katihar on December 16. All the arrested foreigners, stated to be residents of Paktika province in Afghanistan, were booked on charges of violating Indian Foreign Act and forging documents related to Indian citizenship.