A Delhi court on Thursday extended the Enforcement Directorate’s remand of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah to six more days, ANI reported. The Democratic Freedom Party chief was arrested from his house in Srinagar on July 25 for allegedly laundering money to fund militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
During the hearing, Shah blamed the arrest on political vendetta. The Enforcement Directorate’s lawyer said that people like Shah are ruining the country.
The Enforcement Directorate had submitted an application in the court earlier in the day seeking an extension of remand. In its remand application, the agency claimed that Shah had been in continuous contact with “anti-national elements/terrorists residing in Pakistan” in the guise of discussing the unrest in the state. Call records of Shah’s mobile number revealed that he had contacts in Pakistan, Dubai and England, the ED said, adding that these need further investigation.
The money-laundering case:
The case dates back to 2005 when the Delhi Police had arrested suspected hawala dealer Mohammed Aslam Wani, who had claimed to have siphoned off Rs 2.25 crore to Shah. The Enforcement Directorate had then registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Shah and Wani.
The agency had issued several summons to the separatist leader, but he never deposed before the investigators.
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