A routine check during the Bahujan Kranti Morcha’s country-wide bandh earlier this week has opened an investigation into an Afghanistan-India hawala racket.
A 51-year-old Afghan national was taken into custody in Bhiwandi on Wednesday by the Nizampura police. The team was conducting routine checks near the State Transport bus depot as part of the increased security arrangements in light of the bandh.
“Muzammil Khan Gul was among the several people exiting the depot while our team was conducting checks. His overall demeanour showed that he was not a local and one of our personnel approached him. At that same time, two people coming towards him on a bike suddenly turned around and sped away, which increased suspicion against him,” an officer said.
Mr. Gul’s bag was searched and was found to contain a large amount of Indian currency. He was then taken to the police station where the money was counted and it totalled up to ₹2.95 lakh. The police also checked his documents and discovered that he had landed in New Delhi on a tourist visa on January 22.
“We found out that he buys beads used for making necklaces in wholesale quantities from Bhiwandi and takes them back home. He has confessed to having moved his money from Afghanistan to New Delhi through hawala channels, after which he collected it in cash and brought it to Bhiwandi,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajkumar Shinde, Zone II, Thane Police, said.
Mr. Shinde said Mr. Gul was also questioned by the Special Branch and the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad and no indication of him being involved in any terrorist activities have come to light. He was deported to Afghanistan on Friday.
Meanwhile, a report about the details of the hawala racket obtained from Mr. Gul is being shared with the Delhi Police and central agencies for further action, sources said.
