Diplomat handed money, says FIR

Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner Jalil Abbas Jilani has been named in the FIR filed by the police in the case relating to the recove...

Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner Jalil Abbas Jilani has been named in the FIR filed by the police in the case relating to the recovery of ‘‘money for Kashmiri separatists’’ from two Hurriyat activists held outside the mission in New Delhi.

This is the first time that such a senior official has been named by Indian agencies in a case in India. Special cell joint commissioner Neeraj Kumar said the FIR clearly stated that Anjum Zamruda Habib, arrested near Nehru Park, disclosed during interrogation that the money she had with her was handed over by Jilani.

He said the FIR mentions that the meeting with Jilani was fixed by Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat and Sabir Ahmed Dar. Dar was the second person held outside the mission. The police today submitted a three-page report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), detailing the entire incident and the recoveries made from the two accused. The MHA, officials said, would be taking it up with the Ministry of External Affairs to decide further action.

Story continues below this ad

A special cell team would soon be leaving for Kashmir. ‘‘The Jammu and Kashmir Police has already been contacted. We have got certain leads and a team is being sent to Kashmir,’’ confirmed a senior official. The police have not ruled out further arrests.

Investigations so far revealed that Habib had been to Pakistan a number of times in the past. She was also a regular visitor to the Pakistan High Commission, attending the Pakistan Day celebrations and other important functions hosted by the mission.

Whenever she visited the Capital, Habib stayed at the office of the Kashmir Awareness Bureau (KAB). During search operations at the KAB office, the police recovered several documents, including a list of 50 militants who are lodged in Tihar Jail and belong to outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Ansar.

The list in Urdu gives a break-up of militants in various jails in Tihar. According to the list, 17 militants are lodged in Jail 1, 4 in Jail 2, 19 in Jail 3 and another 10 in different jails inside Tihar.

Story continues below this ad

‘‘This list indicates they were in regular touch with the militants, taking care of their needs. Investigations are on whether they were acting as a go-between the militants lodged in the jail and their bosses outside,’’ a senior official said. Besides, five videos prepared in Pakistan and containing anti-India material have also been recovered by the police.