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LeT helped me obtain Pak passport, says Ansari
Aftab Ansari, the alleged mastermind behind the American Center shootout in Kolkata, on Thursday admitted that a Pakistani passport was provided to him by one of the leaders of the Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT).
Aftab Ansari, the alleged mastermind behind the American Center shootout in Kolkata, on Thursday admitted that a Pakistani passport was provided to him by one of the leaders of the Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT).
Agency sources said that Ansari, who had jumped bail and fled to Pakistan in 2000, stated during his interrogation that he had been provided with the Pakistani travel document by leaders of LeT.
The CBI had claimed that it was Aziz Cheema of LeT who had helped him in setting his career after fleeing from India. However, Ansari, who is in CBI's custody till Friday, stated that he was not aware of the identity of the LeT militant, but he had been referred to him by Omar Saeed Sheikh, one of the three militants released by India to end the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane in Kandahar.
Sheikh, an important Jaish-e-Mohammed functionary, was been arrested by the Pakistani police on Tuesday in connection with the kidnapping of WSJ journalist Daniel Pearl.
Meanwhile, various agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate questioned Ansari on Thursday following reports that Pakistan's ISI had asked him to send funds through the hawala channel for ostensibly setting up madrasas in various parts of the country.
Some of the intelligence reports suggested that Ansari used to send his slush funds to India through hawala operators to various conduits of ISI.
The sources said that Ansari, who is to be produced before first class judicial magistrate in Radhanpur in north Gujarat by 4:00 pm on February 16, has admitted that he had been able to extract and transfer over Rs 50 crore from kidnappings to Dubai through the hawala channel.
Ansari has also confirmed his links with the LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia and also revealed that he had even visited their training camps in Pakistan.
The CBI has submitted a detailed report to the agency's legal department to see whether Poto could be applied against Ansari in the case of smuggling of arms and ammunition, including RDX, into the country from Pakistan through the Gujarat border.
Meanwhile, Ansari's questioning about his links with Omar Sheikh was continuing and CBI officials were probing whether he had any role in the hijacking of Indian Airlines plane in 1999.
"Ansari's close proximity with Omar Sheikh and the help rendered by the latter in obtaining assistance from militant outfits cannot be seen in isolation," a CBI official, investigating the case, said.
It may be mentioned that the hijackers of the aircraft had also made calls to Dubai but the agency had not been ble to identify the module in the Gulf country.
Bureau Report
Agency sources said that Ansari, who had jumped bail and fled to Pakistan in 2000, stated during his interrogation that he had been provided with the Pakistani travel document by leaders of LeT.
The CBI had claimed that it was Aziz Cheema of LeT who had helped him in setting his career after fleeing from India. However, Ansari, who is in CBI's custody till Friday, stated that he was not aware of the identity of the LeT militant, but he had been referred to him by Omar Saeed Sheikh, one of the three militants released by India to end the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane in Kandahar.
Sheikh, an important Jaish-e-Mohammed functionary, was been arrested by the Pakistani police on Tuesday in connection with the kidnapping of WSJ journalist Daniel Pearl.
Meanwhile, various agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate questioned Ansari on Thursday following reports that Pakistan's ISI had asked him to send funds through the hawala channel for ostensibly setting up madrasas in various parts of the country.
Some of the intelligence reports suggested that Ansari used to send his slush funds to India through hawala operators to various conduits of ISI.
The sources said that Ansari, who is to be produced before first class judicial magistrate in Radhanpur in north Gujarat by 4:00 pm on February 16, has admitted that he had been able to extract and transfer over Rs 50 crore from kidnappings to Dubai through the hawala channel.
Ansari has also confirmed his links with the LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia and also revealed that he had even visited their training camps in Pakistan.
The CBI has submitted a detailed report to the agency's legal department to see whether Poto could be applied against Ansari in the case of smuggling of arms and ammunition, including RDX, into the country from Pakistan through the Gujarat border.
Meanwhile, Ansari's questioning about his links with Omar Sheikh was continuing and CBI officials were probing whether he had any role in the hijacking of Indian Airlines plane in 1999.
"Ansari's close proximity with Omar Sheikh and the help rendered by the latter in obtaining assistance from militant outfits cannot be seen in isolation," a CBI official, investigating the case, said.
It may be mentioned that the hijackers of the aircraft had also made calls to Dubai but the agency had not been ble to identify the module in the Gulf country.
Bureau Report