ATS wants to 'paralyze' IM's money wing

MUMBAI: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS), probing the 13/7 serial blasts, is chasing the financial wing of the outlawed terror outfit, Indian Mujahideen (IM), and wants to paralyze it. "Without funding, it will become difficult for the IM to run its modules. The outfit requires money to continue its activities," said ATS chief Rakesh Maria.
The IM's hawala operations had come to light following the arrest of Kanwar Nain Pathrija from Delhi.A hawala operator, Pathrija had allegedly received Rs 10 lakh from Dubai and he later handed over this money to IM co-founder and 13/7 mastermind Yasin Bhatkal.
"Our priority is to get all the information about the IM's financial wing and completely paralyze it so that the outfit can not run other operations," said a police source.
In the past, four brigades formed by the IM to carry out terror attacks in Indian cities were crippled after the arrest of two dozen IM suspects.
Sources in the security establishment said two diaries seized from Pathrija contained records of hawala transactions to the tune of Rs 2 crore that took place in the last one year. It is learnt that the police have found the financial records of over Rs two cores from Pathrija's diary.
"However, the money sent by IM operative Haroon Rasheed Naik from UAE is just Rs 10 lakh. We are scanning other people who had sent and received money through hawala channels," said the source.
According to the police, the IM has four known wings, the Shahabuddin brigade to strike in south India, the Mahemood Ghaznavi brigade to strike in the north, the Shaheed Al-Zarkavi brigade to attack VVIPs and the media cell which sends emails. "The IM's media cell has been completely paralyzed. The outfit stopped using the terror-email technique after we traced the origin of such emails and arrested its operatives," another officer said.
It is learnt that IM members in the Gulf have been using various tactics to raise funds, including collecting money in the name of schools and orphanages. or ; they also collected money stating it would be used for the educational purpose of the community.
Policemen, who interrogated the arrested IM members, said the recruits are lured with promises of big cash rewards upon completion of a job. "The money collected through various means is sent to senior IM operatives. They use the money to pay sleeper cells and on new recruits. It seems money has become their main motivation now," said a source.
In the 13/7 case, Rs 10 lakh was sent to Pathrija. He handed over this money to IM operative, Yasin Bhatkal who in turn sent Rs 1.5 lakh to another accused, Naqi Ahmed.
"Once we break the financial system of the outfit, it will be completely crippled. We are taking time in verification and chasing other suspects. We feel that the investigation of financial trail will lead us to a bigger racket," said an officer. BEHIND BARS:
1) Naqi Ahmed (22), a resident of Bihar, is accused of harbouring and sheltering the other accused in Mumbai. He received the hawala money in Mumbai, handed over explosives to co-accused.
2) Nadeem Ahmed (23), a resident of Bihar, is accused of transporting explosives in train from Delhi to Mumbai, aiding and abetting the in the blasts.
3) Kanwarnain Jain Pathrija (43), a Delhi-based hawala operator, received Rs 10 lakh from IM operatives Haroon Rasheed Naik in 2011. He handed over this money to another suspect, Yasin Bhatkal.
4) Haroon Rasheed Naik (34), a Thane resident, was accused of planning the blasts, looking after the financial angle, sending money through hawala from the UAE etc.