NEW DELHI: In a sensational disclosure, former IPS officer Neeraj Kumar, who played a key role in bringing back Harkat-ul-Mujahideen terrorist Aftab Ansari from Dubai, has claimed that part of the funding for the September 11 attacks in America came from India.
According to Kumar, Aftab, prime accused in the 2002 American Center attack case, shared ransom amount he and his gang made by kidnapping Partha Roy Burman of Kolkata with Omar Sheikh, one of the three terrorists who was released during the infamous Kandahar episode in December 1999. Sheikh, in turn, gave the money to Mohammad Atta, chief of the 9/11 attackers.
Kumar, in his book, Dial D for Don, also said Aftab had worked closely with two brothers, Asif Raza Khan and Amir Raza Khan, both Indian Mujahideen operatives. While Asif was killed in an encounter with the Rajkot Police when he tried to escape from custody on December 7, 2001, Amir is still hiding in Pakistan.
Kumar claimed that Asif, Aftab and his younger brother Amir were involved in several sensational kidnappings for ransom like those of jeweller Bhaskar Parekh of Rajkot and Partha Roy Burman of Kolkata.
“Asif admitted to having jihadi leanings and undergoing training at various terror camps in Pakistan. In one such camp, he had overheard that a module was being readied to attack the Indian Parliament. Rajkot Police shared the information with the agency concerned immediately but the input seems to have got lost somewhere in the maze of intelligence bureaucracy,” Kumar said.
“Asif made another startling revelation. His boss Aftab Ansari had shared the ransom money collected in the Burman kidnapping case with Omar Sheikh, one of the three terrorists who had been flown out of jail on 31 December 1999 when India had to trade them for securing the safe release and return of Indian Airlines flight 814 passengers held hostage in Kandahar,” Kumar said.
Sheikh was subsequently involved in the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Part of the ransom money received in the Burman kidnapping – about $ 100,000 (at the time Rs49 lakh) – had later found its way from Omar to Mohammad Atta.
In July 2001, they targeted Partha Pratim Roy Burman, chairman-cum-managing director of Khadim Shoes in Kolkata. Eventually, a ransom of Rs4 crore was paid to Ansari through the hawala route from Hyderabad. Burman was released after eight days of captivity.
“The fact that Aftab gave Rs49 lakh to Omar Sheikh who passed it on to Mohammad Atta, the mastermind behind the terror attacks, was mentioned in the testimony of John S Pistole, deputy assistant director, Counterterrorism Division, FBI, before the Senate Committee on Terrorist Financing in July 2003 at Washington, DC,” he revealed.
Kumar also said that Asif disclosed to the police that both Aftab Ansari and himself had visited the Lashkar headquarters in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Aftab had even met Azam Cheema, launching commander of Lashkar-e- Taiba for India, in February 2000.
Parl attack Tip-off lost in intel maze
Neeraj Kumar said that IM operative Asif Raza Khan had admitted to have trained at Pakistani terror camps, at one of which he overheard that a module was being readied to attack the Indian Parliament. Rajkot Police shared the information but the input got lost in the maze of intelligence bureaucracy.