By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter
New Delhi: Shabir Shah, the Kashmiri separatist leader who was arrested on July 25 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has moved a bail application through his lawyer, MS Khan, alleging that he was wrongly implicated in the case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
On Wednesday, August 9, Shah was sent to a 14-day judicial custody by a court in a decade-old case of money laundering for alleged terror-financing.
Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma sent Shah to jail for two weeks after the accused was produced before him on the expiry of his ED custody and after the central probe agency’s lawyer, N K Matta, told the court that he was not required for further custodial interrogation.
Advocate MS Khan in the bail application has said that one person namely Mohd Aslam Wani was acquitted by the Delhi court in November 2010.
“He was acquitted of offences relating to waging war, Unlawful activities punishable under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Section 17 of the UAPA deals with the offence of raising funds for terrorist activities and the said accused was not convicted or in fact, the prosecution could not prove it against the above accused Aslam Wani. He was convicted only for the offence punishable U/s. 25 Arms Act,” the bail application reads.
Importantly, the judgment of acquittal of the Aslam has not been challenged and the same has attained finality.
“The effect of an acquittal of the accused Aslam Wani is that there is no material left to connect him with the accused Shabbir Shah as it was not proved that the money was recovered or was meant to be used for any illegal purpose (Hawala).”
Advocate MS Khan while speaking to TwoCircles.net said, “The ED has misled the Court while concealing the fact that there was no conviction of the accused namely Mohd. Aslam Wani for the offences relating to waging war, Unlawful activities punishable under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and obtained Non-bailable warrants against Shah and on the strength of the same, the applicant was arrested.”
Shah was arrested by the ED on July 25, a day after several Hurriyat leaders were taken into custody by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) in a case of alleged terror-funding in the Valley to fuel unrest.
He was taken into custody in relation to the August 2005 case in which the Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Mohammed Aslam Wani (35), an alleged hawala dealer who is currently in ED custody until August 14, claiming that Rs 63 lakh were recovered from Wani, of which Rs 52 lakh were alleged to be delivered to Shah.