NIA, CBI join forces to track Saradha-JMB ‘link’

KOLKATA: In a significant development in the Saradha scam probe, NIA and CBI will now jointly investigate the possibility of a Ponzi cash link with the Burdwan blast and the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh module.
Sources say top officials of both central agencies met in Delhi on December 18 and decided to continue the probe in a coordinated manner and share information.This comes just weeks after Union minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that investigators had so far not found any evidence of Saradha links with the Khagragarh IED blast.
Central investigators have agreed that while NIA will continue probing into the terror aspect of the JMB blast, CBI — which is conducting the Saradha probe — will try to ascertain if the illegal proceeds were used to fund cross-border terror modules.
When asked about the reason for this change of strategy, a senior NIA officer said: “During interrogation, some information has come up that shows a huge amount of money was transferred to various banks in Bangladesh. We need to identify the money trail that played an important role in the blast.” Another NIA officer confirmed the twin-pronged probe and said: “There are some inter-related information in the Saradha and Burdwan blast cases and we need to exchange information.”
According to these agencies, about Rs 75 crore changed hands between JMB and some politicians in Bengal. The money was transferred to several banks in Bangladesh, mainly Islami Bank, and routed back through some NGOs in Kolkata, say sources. Documents found on Shakil Ahmed, who was killed in the Khagragarh blast, showed that he had moved money 18 times in three years and parked it in different pockets in Bangladesh. During the interrogation of Shahnur Alam – the JMB ‘dentist’ arrested from Assam — and Myanmarese operative Adbul Kahled, NIA investigators realized that the amount of money transferred to Bangladesh is much higher that thought.
“It is becoming really hard to trace the money trail because most of it was moved to and from Bangladesh through hawala channels. Some even moved to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. As this involves some political leaders, we need the help of other agencies investigating the money scam,” an NIA investigator said.
NIA is already looking into the financial transactions of a Trinamool MP and a former Trinamool leader, who allegedly had a role in money transfers to Bangladesh. “A direct link between Saradha and the Burdwan blast is yet to be established but there is evidence that a huge amount of money crossed the border. Its source is yet to be traced,” an NIA officer said.