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Terror funding? ISI network busted as ATS nabs duo in suspicious money trail
The bank account is owned by one of the two men arrested and the transactions took place in a month’s period
Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (UPATS) has arrested two persons in connection with the discovery of suspicious money transactions, worth around ₹75 lakh, from/to the bank account, which led to the unraveling of a terror-funding network allegedly operated by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), senior police officials said on Sunday.
The bank account is owned by one of the two men arrested and the transactions took place in a month’s period, they added.
In a press note, the ATS identified the two men who were arrested as Bathinda resident Amrit Pal Singh alias Amrit Gill (25), an autorickshaw driver by profession, and Ghaziabad’s Riyaz-u-deen. They said another accused in the case was Izharul Hussain from Bihar’s Bettiah. He is already in jail in connection with some other case.
Riyaz and Izrahul had worked together in Rajasthan and were in touch with each other for the past few years.
The officials said Amrit Pal was arrested from Bathinda on Thursday and brought to Lucknow on Sunday after procuring his transit remand from a local court there. They said the bank account belonged to the Faridnagar branch of Canara Bank and was registered in the name of Riyaz-u-deen. However, as he claimed to be unaware of the transactions, he was initially released after primary investigation. “Later, Riyaz-u-deen was recalled for interrogation at ATS headquarters in Lucknow where Amrit Pal revealed some more facts. Riyaz was also arrested for his connection with the ISI network.”
“After intense questioning by the UPATS, Riyaz revealed that he had provided his account number to Izharul in exchange for a monthly payment of ₹10,000. Riyaz and Izrahul Hussain together worked for the ISI and assisted it in transferring funds to its agents in many Indian states,” said a senior ATS official. “Izrahul will be brought to Lucknow after securing B-warrant...”
In response to this matter, the ATS recently filed an FIR at its Lucknow police station against Riyaz-u-deen and Izharul, along with unknown ISI agents operating from Pakistan, under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 121-A (conspiracy to wage war). The FIR was lodged by ATS inspector Arvind Kumar Pandey on November 10.
A copy of the FIR, obtained by HT from the UPCOP application, outlines transactions amounting to approximately ₹75 lakh from Riyaz-u-deen’s account. The document asserts that the cash was transferred from various bank accounts operated by Pakistani agents and then dispersed to different agents within the country.
