KARWAR: Delhi’s Patiala House court has acquitted Abdul Wahid Siddibapa of Bhatkal, who was arrested by NIA on charges of financially aiding Indian Mujahideen and plotting bomb blasts since 2007.
On May 20, 2016, NIA charged Siddibapa with funding IM after he was deported from the UAE, his counsel MS Khan said. “He was also accused of funding the organisation when he was in Dubai. NIA claimed he had transferred money to the banned outfit through various sources.”
The transaction of money was challenged in court. “The NIA could not establish the link of money sent through various sources, and we proved that the small amount of money sent via hawala was to his wife. Since the matter was not established by the NIA, Siddibapa was released,” explained Khan. He said even the arrest was made based on a conversation between the two accused.
Besides, there was an attempt to link him to other cases in Hyderabad and Mumbai. Since he has already been booked and the matter has been resolved, he cannot be detained any longer, and the court ordered his release, he told TNIE. Siddibapa will be released from prison on Monday after seven years.
During the investigation, Siddibapa’s role was said to be that of a channeliser of funds received from IM operatives in Pakistan, via Dubai, for use by IM operatives based in India for conducting terror activities, the charge sheet said. It added that the money was also regularly sent to IM operatives lodged in jails and their families besides its absconding activists.