ED team sent to JK to fast-track probe in hawala related cases

SRINAGAR: Taking serious view of illegal funding of terror and separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir, Enforcement Directorate has dispatched its officials to fast-track probe in 18 hawala related cases and detect possible violations of Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

This is possibly the first time that the ED has deputed its senior officials to the Valley for investigations in such cases, official sources said.

The move comes after a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary R K Singh recently in which officials from ED, Income Tax , intelligence agencies and para-military forces, besides police chiefs from Jammu and Kashmir participated.

During the meeting, sources said, the ED and the investigative wing of Income Tax department raised the question of security of their team members while pursuing cases against hawala operators and separatist leaders following which the state police gave a complete assurance in this regard.

The ED has been talking to various security agencies and the police to gather more details about the cases and would decide as to in how many cases PMLA could be invoked, the sources said.

The central government was paying special attention to check illegal funding of separatists and terror groups in Kashmir and had constituted Combating of Funding of Terrorist (CFT) cell within the Union Home Ministry to monitor it.