Mangalore: Aysha, Zubair booked for hawala, no connection to terror suspects
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Nov 14: In what may come as a relief to Mangaloreans, sources have said that the Bihar police have not charged Aysha Banu and her husband of having any connection to terror suspects. They have been instead booked under IPC sections 420, 460, 468, 471, 120b that deal with cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy and under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act sections 17,18, 18b, 21, 38, 40 for running a hawala scam.
It is said that the no evidence has been found so far linking Aysha or Zubair with the terror suspects behind the Patna blasts. Investigation has revealed that crores of rupees had made their way across five states in India through Aysha's accounts.
Sources have revealed that crores of rupees were transferred to the bank accounts opened by Zubair, husband of Aysha who was arrested for her alleged links with terror suspects, as claimed earlier, and for running a hawala racket sourced from Pakistan. However, it is not yet known under whose name these accounts were opened.
It is learnt that Aysha was holding seven accounts in nationalised banks with Rs 5 crore in all. The officials found seven bank passbooks, six ATM cards, 10 mobile phones, 10 SIM cards (and more than 35 illegal ones) with around 50 numbers of Pakistan.
It is also suspected that Rs 25 crore worth of transaction was done through these various accounts. Although Aysha's accounts were in her name, Zubair used to manage them. Hence police also took custody of Zubair. It is also alleged that he was using Aysha in his dealings with a Pakistan-based man, for which he was given commission.
Aysha's involvement in the hawala scam came to light after Bihar police arrested Gopalkrishna Goel, Pawan Kumar, Vikas Kumar and Ganesh Prasad in Lakhisarai, police sources said.
Bihar police have been given 15 days' time to interrogate the accused couple. The investigation is going on under the guidance of Bihar SDPO Subodh Kumar.
Meanwhile, a case was registered against Zubair in Kavoor police station on Wednesday November 13 night on charges of trying to obtain a second passport.
Aysha hails from Devanageri in Virajpet of Kodagu district. She was born to a Hindu family of eight and converted to Islam after she met Zubair of Panjimogeru, who was working as a driver in the same town.