Delhi Police suspends senior cop after arrest in J&K terror funding case

The seized demonetised notes on Tuesday. (Express Photo: Prem Nath Pandey)

Delhi Police on Wednesday suspended Assistant Sub-Inspector Bhagwan Singh who was held along with six people after the NIA seized demonetised currency worth Rs 36 crore from them in an alleged case of terror funding.

The agency booked the six, along with three others, in its case against Hurriyat leaders. On Wednesday, a special court sent all the nine accused to NIA custody till November 21. “Bhagwan Singh is the key accused in the case and has a prominent role in movement of money,” an NIA officer said.

According to the NIA, during questioning of the accused, the agency learnt that some people associated with top separatists were hoarding demonetised currency. “Surveillance was mounted on such persons/ entities. This led to unearthing of a conspiracy wherein a gang of such persons/ entities were making an attempt to convert this demonetised money into valid currency,” an NIA spokesperson said.

The agency said on Monday, an NIA team intercepted the gang members at Jai Singh Road near Connaught Place and found them carrying 28 cartons filled with demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Over two days of counting, the agency has arrived at the figure of Rs 36,34,78,500 in demonetised currency. Initially, the agency apprehended seven people with the demonetised currency, but one was let off after questioning. Three others were arrested Tuesday evening.

Those arrested have been identified as Delhi residents Pradeep Chauhan, Bhagwan Singh and Vinod Shreedhar Shetty, Deepak Toprani of Mumbai, Ejajul Hassan of Amroha, Jaswinder Singh of Nagpur, and Jammu and Kashmir residents Umar Mushtaq Dar (Pulwama), Shahnawaz Mir (Srinagar) and Majid Yousuf Sofi (Anantnag). The agency has also seized four cars —BMW X3, Creta SX, Ford EcoSport Titanium and BMW X1.

When asked why the suspects were still carrying demonetised currency since all government windows to convert the money have been closed, an NIA officer said certain bank officials were still converting demonetised currency by tinkering with bank records.