Internal Counter-Terror Ops by Indian Security Forces and NIA : News and Updates

Pak wanted Davinder Singh to find contact inside MEA: NIA chargesheet
Davinder Singh, the dismissed Jammu and Kashmir Police deputy superintendent of police (DSP), not only played a key role in providing safe passage to the terrorists and leaking information about the deployment of Indian security forces, but also hid Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorists in the J&K police’s guest house a day before his arrest, according to the charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last month.

The charge sheet, exclusively reviewed by HT, states that apart from the Hizbul Mujahideen, Singh, 59, was in touch with the Pakistani establishment through Shafkat Jatoi alias Hussain , an officer of Pakistan high commission in New Delhi through secure messaging platforms.

Revealing Singh’s closeness to the Pakistani official, NIA’s charge sheet says that Singh saved the mobile number of Shafkat Jatoi as “Bhai Pak” .

Shafkat was using Singh to gain some access to other arms of the government and tasked him (Singh) to find a contact in the ministry of external affairs (MEA), NIA adds.

Singh was arrested on January 11 this year when he was ferrying HM Commander Syed Naveed Mushtaq alias Naveed Babu, an advocate, Irfan Shafi Mir, and another terrorist, Rafi Ahmad Rather, from Shopian to Jammu -- in his car.

He had done this before, NIA adds, commenting that people like Singh have played a “crucial” role in making HM one of the region’s most active terror groups.

The charge sheet, filed on July 6 in a special court in Jammu, claims that Singh transported Naveed Babu with another HM militant in February 2019 from Shopian to Jammu and later back to Shopian in April same year.

“His ( Singh’s) level of commitment in the execution of conspiracy is established by way of the fact that he harboured the HM militants – Babu and Rather on January 10 (a day before they were arrested this year) in a guest house meant for stay of J&K police personnel -- by making forged entries in the records of the guest house,” the charge sheet says. The location of guest house is not mentioned in the charge sheet but Singh, Mir, Babu and Rather left Shopian for Jammu on January 11.

It adds that Naveed Babu once asked Mir to confirm from Singh as which social media and messaging platforms they should use to avoid surveillance by Indian agencies.

Mir, who enjoyed clout with the HM leadership and Pak’s spy agency ISI, was using the official position of Singh for collection of information about the deployment of security forces, and engaged in getting arms and ammunition for further supplying to the active militants in the valley, the NIA charge sheet says.

“The evidence on record reveals that Singh was in constant touch with Irfan Mir for providing all kind of support including supply of arms and ammunition for which he was receiving funds at different point of time,” it adds. For supplying arms, Singh used to receive money from Mir and another HM operative Syed Irfan Ahmad.

It was Mir who had introduced Singh to Naveed Babu and Pakistan high commission officials.

The NIA has stated that Mir became part of conspiracy to help Naveed Babu further the agenda of HM sometime in June-July 2018 in the valley.

During his four trips to Pakistan since 2016, Mir met HM chief Syed Salahuddin, the terror group’s operation head Khurshid Alam and several ISI officers according to the charge sheet.
 
Jaish Commanders Had FATF Scrutiny in Mind while Planning Pulwama Terror Attack, Reveals NIA

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has claimed that the 2019 Pulwama terror attack conspiracy was planned by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) with an eye on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) scrutiny. NIA officials have told CNN-News18 that money was transferred into Umer Farooq's account in small packets to avoid scrutiny by international forums.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.



"Money was transferred in five different installments from Jaish handlers to Farooq's accounts. The entire transaction didn't happen at a go, like earlier," said a senior officer supervising the NIA probe.

The NIA has attached to the chargesheet a copy of the pay in slip and Farooq's cheque books of Allied Bank of Pakistan and Meenaz Bank of Pakistan where the money was received. A total of PKR 10.36 lakh was transferred in five installments between January 27 and February 4. The initial plan was to carry out the blast on February 6, but snowfall ensured it was postponed.



MEENAZ BANK Pakistan



Farooq's cheque book of Meenaz Bank of Pakistan where the money was received to carry out the terror attack (News18)



The NIA has also attached screenshots of Farooq giving a total expense breakdown to his handlers. The screenshots of WhatsApp chat in Urdu show that total expenses of Rs 5.7 lakh was incurred.

In the chat, Farooq tells his handlers that Rs 1.85 lakh was spent to buy the Maruti Eco car used in the blast; Rs 50,000 to modify it for the purpose of bombing; Rs 2.5 lakh to buy explosives like aluminium powder, calcium nitrate, ammonium nitrate and gelatin sticks; Rs 30,000 on buying fertilisers used to extract nitrate compounds for the IED.



Umer Farooq WhatsApp chat with Jaish



A screenshot of Farooq's chat with Jaish handlers (News18)

The FATF has demanded that Pakistan show verifiable evidence to prove that proscribed terror organisations like the JeM have been stopped from using banking channels. Pakistan has been on the FATF grey list for its failure to do.
 
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NIA has established complete money trail for pulwama attack and intend to present to FATF for blacklisting paxtan. This money was used to purchase car /VBIED and ammonium powder from Amazon.