Author: A Staff Reporter
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: January 11, 2002
The police today claimed they had
obtained several leads that linked Mohammad Dilshad, the ISI operative
arrested from Siliguri, to his network in Calcutta.
"We have been able to establish
a clear connection between Dilshad and his Burrabazar-based hawala operators,"
a senior intelligence official said.
Today, several raids were carried
out in Howrah and Burrabazar areas in search of the hawala operators.
"Several persons have been detained.
Our suspect is highly respected among the business community in central
Calcutta," the official said.
The investigators came to know about
the two hawala operators in Calcutta after grilling Dilshad in Siliguri.
"Both the operators fled as soon
as Dilshad was arrested. This also speaks volumes of the kind of network
these criminals have built up over the years," the official added.
The Intelligence Bureau had repeatedly
warned the state government through the Union home ministry that several
"subversive elements" were taking shelter and building a base in and around
Calcutta.
A team of Special Branch (SB) and
Intelligence Branch (IB) officials stormed Tarakhand Dutta Lane in Jorasanko
police station area on Wednesday morning and detained three associates
of those two hawala operators.
After keeping a round-the-clock
watch on the Jorasanko area, the IB and SB officials finally managed to
find another house where the operator used to reside. "Several documents
were also seized from the place," the official said.
According to IB officials, the hawala
agents sheltered ISI operatives in and around the city. "Dilshad was given
shelter by them in Calcutta a few months ago when he came here to receive
hawala money. These hawala operators regularly contacted Dilshad," an IB
official said.
The Darjeeling police also tipped
off IB officials about more hideouts in Howrah. Superintendent of Darjeeling
police Sanjay Chander had mentioned names of some who have links with Dilshad.
"We cannot disclose those names for the sake of investigation," he said.
The police raided some places in
Salkia, Shibpur and Howrah town areas. "But none of the suspects was found
during the raids. We are looking for some more specific information from
Darjeeling police," said an official.IB officials are also trying to find
out whether Dilshad had contacted any army officials in Calcutta during
his city visit.