Court takes cognisance of charge sheet against Kashmiri separatist's wife

After taking cognisance, Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana issued summons to Bilqees Shah. The Enforcement Directorate had filed the charge sheet against Bilqees in September 2020 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

New Delhi:A Delhi Court has taken cognisance of a supplementary charge sheet filed against the wife of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah in a money laundering case relating to terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir.

After taking cognisance, Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana issued summons to Bilqees Shah. The Enforcement Directorate had filed the charge sheet against Bilqees in September 2020 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Bilqees has been made accused of her role in the commission of the offence of money laundering for carrying out illegal activities. Earlier, the agency had attached properties of Shabir Shah, his wife and daughters in Srinagar's upscale Effandi Bagh.

According to ED, Shabir Shah has been found to be carrying out illicit activities along with his accomplice Mohammad Aslam Wani, who is an activist of banned militant organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

The official said that Shah was using Wani as a carrier for collecting hawala money sent by his Pakistan based outfits through hawala operators to deliver the same to him and his wife for carrying illegal activities.

During the investigation, it was revealed that Shabir, without having any legitimate sources of income, had received money for carrying out separatist activities in J&K and had acquired various properties through a maze of dubious transactions, the official said.

Bilqees also received illegitimate money from Wani on various occasions, the official said. The ED case is based on the FIR and charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police Special Cell against Wani.

According to the Special Cell charge sheet, Wani was apprehended with 5 kg of explosives, one pistol with 15 live cartridges and Rs 62.96 lakh in cash.

(Inputs from agency)