The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday arrested a close aide of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah (pictured above) in connection with the same terror-funding case in which he is implicated. Aslam Wani was arrested from Srinagar a day after a Delhi court issued an “open-ended” Non-Bailable Warrant against him, reported The Indian Express. An open-ended NBW does not come with a deadline for execution.
Subsequently, a Delhi court sent Wani to 14-day custody of the Enforcement Directorate, reported ANI.
In 2007, the ED had registered a case against Wani for allegedly laundering money. A Special Cell of the Delhi Police had arrested him in 2005 and recovered a pistol and Rs 62.9 lakh from him.
Wani had allegedly confessed to having worked as a “courier” for Shah. He had claimed he had collected money from operators in Delhi and was supposed to give Rs 52.96 lakh to Shah. The agency had registered a criminal case against both Shah and Wani under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
In 2010, a Delhi court had dismissed the charges against Wani in the terror-funding case. The court had said that the charges were “not proved” and convicted him only under the Arms Act.
On July 26, the Enforcement Directorate had arrested Shah for allegedly laundering money to fund terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The separatist leader was picked up from his house in Srinagar.