NIA chargesheets Dawood Ibrahim, his aide Chhota Shakeel in terror funding case

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday filed a chargesheet against wanted global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, his close aide Chhota Shakeel and three other arrested associates, who are running a global terrorist network and a transnational Organised Criminal Syndicate, namely D-Company, which is involved in various terrorist and criminal activities in India.

Besides Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar alias Shaikh Dawood Hassan and Shakeel Shaikh alias Chhota Shakeel, the chargesheet names three arrested accused Arif Abubakar Shaikh, Shabbir Abubakar Shaikh and Mohammad Salim Qureshi. NIA said its investigations have established that the accused persons who are members of the D-Company, a terrorist gang and an organized crime syndicate, had conspired to further the criminal activities of the gang by carrying out various types of unlawful activities.

A case was registered by NIA’s Mumbai branch on February 3 this year under sections 17, 18, 20 and 21 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and under section 3(1) (ii), 3(2), 3(4) & 3(5) of The Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, 1999, as well as sections 387, 201 and 120B of Indian Penal Code.

“In furtherance of the conspiracy, they (charge-sheeted accused) raised, collected and extorted huge amounts of money by threatening and by putting persons in fear of death or grievous hurt, for the D-Company for the benefit of an individual terrorist in the instant case, and with the intention to threaten the security of India and create terror in the minds of the general public,” the NIA said.

It has also been established that the arrested accused persons received huge amounts of money through hawala channels, from the absconding and wanted accused based abroad, meant for triggering sensational terrorist and criminal acts in Mumbai and other parts of India to create terror in the minds of people, the NIA said.

The agency said that the accused persons possessed ‘proceeds of terrorism’ and were involved in terror activities.