The J&K police have launched a manhunt to arrest former minister Jatinder Singh alias Babu Singh in a hawala case, with the security agencies alleging that the money was used for terror funding.
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“Babu Singh is absconding. He will be traced soon. The hidden aim of the hawala money seems to fund separatists and terrorism in J&K. The money trail indicated that it was meant for anti-national activities. More details will emerge only after Mr. Singh is questioned,” Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh said in Jammu.
Mr. Singh, a Congress leader, was a minister in the erstwhile State of J&K during the PDP-Congress coalition government in 2018.
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Earlier this week, officials said one person, identified as Mohammad Shareef Shah from Kokernag’s Larnoo, was arrested from Jammu’s Gandhi Nagar following “a specific input that some unknown person is going to receive hawala money”.
Around ₹6.90 lakh was recovered from Shah’s possession. Official said Mr. Shah on questioning disclosed that he was tasked by Mr. Singh, at present chairman of the Nature - Mankind Friendly Global Party, to collect money from one Omer at Srinagar.
“After receiving money from Omer, Mr. Shah came to Jammu and was caught. He disclosed names of his local associates and foreign associates, Javed and Khatib, residents of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Farooq Khan of Toronto,” the officials said.
According to the security agencies, Mr. Shah was the administrator of a secret Whatsapp group with members from Pakistanis and Saudi Arabia.