Delhi hub of Lashkar, Hizbul hawala operations: NIA

The National Investigation Agency has unearthed a hawala operation of front organisations of Pak-based terror outfits LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen for providing money to families of terror operatives killed all over India. Rajesh Ahuja reports. MHA eye on NGOs funding terrorists

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has unearthed a hawala operation of front organisations of Pakistan-based terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) for providing money to families of terror operatives killed all over India.

Hawala is an illicit channel used for transferring money around the world by circumventing legitimate banking channels. The NIA has detected in the last few years a well-oiled hawala operation to tune of around Rs 100 crore.

According to sources in the NIA, a part of the money received by HM operatives goes to certain separatist leaders in Kashmir and another chunk is devoted to fuel militancy. The NIA has registered two FIRs based on the information gathered by it.

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“The funds received from Pakistan are transferred to Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and other places in India through the hawala channel by a front organisation of HM which goes by the name of Jammu & Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust (JKART),” states one of the FIRs.

The JKART, according to the FIR, has its head office in Rawalpindi and branch offices in Islamabad and Muzzafarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “Its chairman is Mehboob ul Haq and the post of general secretary is held by Masroor Dar,” the FIR adds.

The sources in the NIA said that Delhi had emerged as a major hub for this operation. Once money reaches the national capital, it is disbursed through conduits based in Jama Masjid, Lajpat Nagar and Bhogal areas. The NIA suspects the use of normal banking channels to disburse the money once it reaches Delhi.

“The HM is getting significant funding from Pakistan based Hizb-e-Islami which led by Masood Sarfaraz. In case of LeT, the money is coming from the Gulf too,” said an NIA source.

The NIA has identified three Baramulla residents as the conduits in the LeT operation.