Former J&K Jatinder Singh alias Babu Singh and Close aide sent to judicial custody for Hawala Funding
Jatinder Singh alias Babu Singh
On March 31, based on specific information, several checking points were established by the police in Jammu city. One of the vehicles checked by the police team had Mohammed Shareef Shah, 64, travelling in it and was having ₹6.9 lakh in cash for which he could not give a valid reason.
He was arrested and On questioning, disclosed that he was asked by former minister Jatinder Singh to collect the money from one Omer at Srinagar. After receiving money from Omer, Shah had came to Jammu to hand over to a local but was caught.
On further questioning, he had disclosed names of his local and foreign associates as Javed and Khatib, residents of PoK and Farooq Khan of Toronto in Canada.
The former minister who was absconding since March 31 was finally nabbed by the police on Apr9 from Keerian Gandial village in Kathua district. A senior police officer said that “With the arrest of Babu Singh, we will be able to establish the entire network of Hawala money, which had been sent to Jammu to fund and fuel terrorism in the region. ”
On April 11, a fast-track court had then sent former J&K minister Jatinder Singh alias Babu Singh and his close aide Mohammad Shareef Shah to five-day police remand. Presiding officer of the fast-track court Khalil Choudhary (having charge of special judge NIA) had granted the police remand whose deadline ceased on Saturday.
Special judge of the NIA court, Jammu, Sunit Gupta on Saturday refused further police remand of former J&K minister Jatinder Singh alias Babu Singh and his close aide Mohammad Shareef Shah in the alleged Hawala racket and remanded them to judicial custody till May 15. Both the accused were remanded to Kot Bhalwal Jail on the outskirts of Jammu city.
Accordingly, both of them were shifted to high security Kot Bhalwal jail till May 15.
High court lawyer Aseem Sawhney, who appeared on behalf of Babu Singh and Shah, said, “The court granted month-long judicial remand of former minister Babu Singh and Mohammad Shareef Shah till May 15.”
While Shah was physically present in the court, Babu Singh could not be produced because of his broken limb.
“On April 11, the last date of hearing, the former minister was complaining of pain in his foot and the court had directed a medical checkup,” said Sawhney.
The police had on Saturday sought judicial remand of both the accused and the court, while considering the nature of crime as ‘heinous’, remanded them to one-month judicial custody.
The court had passed the order following an application filed on Monday by subdivisional police officer of Gandhi Nagar police station DSP Sachit Sharma.
In the application, the police had sought the remand Shah of Kokernag in Anantnag and Jatinder Singh of ward number 1 in Kathua town for a period of 10 days.
The police had produced CD file before the court to seek 10-day police remand.
Shah and Babu Singh were booked under FIR number 73/2022 for the commission of offence under Sections 17/18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act at the Gandhi Nagar police station.
