LeT suspect had received foreign funds around 11/7

Written By Anupam Dasgupta | Updated:

Rs 4.58 lakh in Saudi riyals moved into the country by the havala route before and after the serial blasts.

Rs 4.58 lakh in Saudi riyals moved into the country by the  havala route before and after the serial blasts.

MUMBAI: The Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Intelligence Bureau claim to have found evidence that suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba western region chief Faizal Sheikh had received 37,000 Saudi riyals (approximately Rs4.58 lakh) through havala (illegal foreign exchange) channels before and after 11/7.

The investigating agencies are, however, yet to conclusively prove that the money was used to funding terrorist activities.

In a simultaneous development, the ATS arrested Danish Riyaz Saukat Ali Sheikh, a SIMI sympathiser, from Mira Road late on Sunday night. Police also recovered "jihadi literature" from Ihtesaam Siddique, who was arrested on Saturday.

Danish Sheikh, police said, was attached to two city-based Urdu newspapers. He and Siddique have been charged under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Police said money was funnelled to Faizal Sheikh in two separate installments. Joint Commissioner of Police KP Raghuvanshi, who heads the ATS, said, "Twenty-five thousand riyals (Rs3.10 lakh) was routed to Mumbai, and another 12,000 riyals (Rs1.48 lakh) to Pune."

Raghuvanshi said the ATS has sought the help of the Jammu and Kashmir police to corroborate records pertaining to some Lashkar operatives who could be linked to the July 11 serial blasts.

The Madhya Pradesh police are also assisting investigators in Mumbai in the hunt for the suspects. "A team is here in the city and we are collaborating with them on all aspects of sharing data," Raghuvanshi said.

It has emerged that while Faizal handled funds and recruitment, Raheel Sheikh, who is still at large, managed the operational part of the Lashkar's local terror module.

DNA had reported yesterday that Raheel Sheikh, Faizal Sheikh, Kamal Ansari, Tanveer Ansari, Feroze Ghanswala and Mohammad Ali Chippa were all part of the same Lashkar terror module. Chippa and Ghanswala were arrested by the Delhi police on May 9.