UP shop owners questioned over terror funding

Two owners of a mobile phone store in Gorakhpur are being questioned by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Uttar Pradesh. They are being grilled in connection with a terror funding case.

Gorakhpur (UP), Dec 30 (IANS) The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Uttar Pradesh is questioning two owners of a mobile store in Gorakhpur in a terror funding case, official sources said on Wednesday.

Uttar Pradesh ATS Inspector General of Police GK Goswami, however, clarified that it was neither a raid nor a search operation but simply an ongoing investigation into a terror funding case of 2018.

On March 24, 2018, the ATS had arrested Nasim Ahmed and Arshad Naim, owners of the mobile shop at Baldev Plaza in Goleghar area, for questioning in another case related to wholesale trading in mobile phones and hawala transactions.

"A specific amount of money was seized by the ATS at that time and its sources were being verified," he said.

He said that a 16-member ATS team had been sent to Gorakhpur for further investigation in the matter.

Another ATS officer said that on March 24, 2018, the UP ATS had busted a terror funding network operated from Pakistan by arresting 10 persons from various districts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar.

In the same operation, the two shop owners were also arrested and Rs 45 lakh allegedly seized by the ATS team. Though the two were bailed out, they were not able to explain about the seized cash and its sources. "The cash is still lying with the ATS team," he added.

Hence, the officer said, a team was questioning them to check the sources of the money and also check their laptops and hard drive of computers.

IANS