SRINAGAR: The
National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested the president of cross-LOC Traders’ Association,
Tanveer Ahmad Wani
, in New Delhi after disclosures by arrested DSP, Davinder Singh.
Tanveer is the sixth person to be arrested in the case after Davinder Singh was arrested last month on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway while escorting two Hizb terrorists.
The NIA also questioned
Abdul Rashid Sheikh
, former MLA (independent) from Langate, over terror funding. The NIA had raided the residences Tanveer Wani and another trader,
Ghulam Ahmad Wani
, in
Pulwama district
in July 2019, but let off both after questioning.
Tanveer is alleged to have funded Naveed Babu, operational commander of
Hizbul Mujahideen
, who was arrested along with Davinder Singh and three others in the DSP’s car on January 11, on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway near Qazigund.
Tanveer is believed to be involved in hawala transactions under the garb of cross-LOC trade and NIA suspects he was funding the Hizb outfit for carrying out terrorist activities in Jammu & Kashmir.
Official sources said Tanveer was summoned to Delhi from Pulwama and arrested there. Apart from Davinder Singh, Naveed Babu,
Rafi Ahmad Rather
, Irfan Shafi Mir, and Syed Irfan are in the NIA custody.
The government of India started cross-LoC trade in 2006, but the traders were mostly found involved in hawala transactions, which helped terror activities in J&K.
India stopped cross-LoC trade in February 2019, in the wake of the suicide attack on the CRPF convoy at Lethpora in Pulwama, which claimed the lives of over 40 CRPF jawans.