BHOPAL: The Chinese SIM box-enabled international call racket in Madhya Pradesh linked to ISI spying network in India had vital links in bylanes of Old Delhi, a Naxal affected district of Bihar, asides West UP.
Investigations by MP police anti-terror squad into the recently busted spy ring has revealed that the spying syndicate was also involved in terror funding in India and the network had crucial links in Delhi, Jamui district of Bihar and Amiga district of West UP.
The investigation has particularly zeroed in on hawala dealer from Jama Masjid area of Delhi who was laundering money for the syndicate and involved in onward transmission to terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir. The hardened criminal is under scanner for having routed over Rs 2 crores in last two years to alleged ISI operatives in J&K.
Accused in cases of drug smuggling in the past, the suspect from Delhi was routing money via trusted couriers to J&K.
The money was primarily sent to the two alleged ISI operatives, Satwindar and Dadu, who were arrested in Jammu’s RS Pura area in 2016.
The money was deposited in bank accounts of the Delhi suspect by Satna (MP) based Balram, who is the alleged kingpin of the international call based spying racket busted by the MP ATS last week.
Along with 10 others, among them ruling BJP member Dhruv Saxena, Balram was arrested recently by MP ATS on connection with the spying ring.
The money deposited by Balram in Delhi man’s accounts was withdrawn by the latter from two nationalised bank ATMs regularly in the old Delhi area before being routed to J&K.
Importantly Delhi's Jama Masjid area hasn't been home to hawala rackets, unlike the adjoining Chandani Chowki locality where hawala rackets have been caught in the past, sources added.
Besides, the Delhi man, the investigators have also found links of the racket in naxal hit Jamui district of Bihar.
With Jamui being one of the Maoist extremism hotbeds in Bihar, investigators are also probing possibility of any Maoist links to the spying in India by Pak handlers. Further, probe has also brought to the fore another link of the spying ring in Amroha district of West UP.
Ongoing probe has revealed that Pakistani handlers were using Chinese SIM box enabled parallel phone exchanges at around 100 locations in India, including those busted in Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Satna town’s of MP to dupe people via online and lottery fraud.
The money earned by Pakistani caller’s (whose idenities were masked and calls converted into local GSM cellphone calls by parallel exchanges) by duping people particularly in South and East India were parked in 200-odd accounts in 25-plus nationalised and private banks in Satna and Rewa districts of MP.
All these bank accounts were managed by Satna-based Balram using the ATM cards of actual account holders, including sacked Bajrang Dal cow protection body leader Ashish Singh Rathore.
Rathore held three of these accounts in which Pakistani handlers parked whopping sum in 2015 and 2016 via Balram in return for commissions to the account holder.
The money parked in these accounts of banks in the two MP districts bordering UP were subsequently withdrawn by Balram and then transferred to the bank accounts managed by the old Delhi based terror financer.
Meanwhile, the MP ATS had brought to Bhopal one Rajiv Tiwari alias Rajjan, who was lodged at the jail in Satna district in an NDPS Act case pertaining to ganja smuggling.
Tiwari, who was was brought on production warrant to Bhopal on Thursday was produced before an additional CJM court in Bhopal. He has remanded into MP ATS custody till February 21.
Tiwari has been arrested following revelations by Balram, about Tiwari having arranged for him around 100 bank accounts in Satna and Rewa districts. These were among the 200-odd bank accounts in the two districts in which the crores of rupees of Pak handlers was parked in 2015 and 2016 by Balram before being routed to the two ISI operatives, Satwindar and Dadu in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to sources, Tiwari had got bogus accounts (possibly jandhan accounts) opened in the names of poor villagers in 2014 and 2015 at banks in Satna and Rewa districts.
The same accounts in private and nationalised banks were subsequently used to park the money of Pak handlers of the racket in 2015 and 2016. He is also believed to be the crucial link between Balram and Pak handlers.
Tiwari, a native of Uchehra area of Satna district is a member of an inter-state drug smuggling gang headed by Anup Jaiswal alias Jassa.
He was also allegedly involved in aiding the suspected activists of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) during 2009 in plotting the failed murder bid of then Satna central jail superintendent Sanjay Pandey (now DIG Jail HQ in Bhopal).