Court extends Shabir Shah's judicial custody

A court here on Friday extended, till November 15, the judicial custody of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah in a money laundering case.

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma also extended the judicial custody of alleged 'hawala' operator Muhammad Aslam Wani till the same date.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a chargesheet in the case last month against Wani and Shah under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Wani, who was arrested on August 6, had reportedly confessed that he had passed on hawala money amounting to Rs 2.25 crore to Shah, who was himself arrested on July 25 on charges of money laundering in a case dating back to 2005.

While Wani had been arrested and tried in the 2005 case lodged by the Delhi Police's Special Cell, the court had acquitted him of the charges of dealing with criminal conspiracy and other offences but convicted him under the Arms Act.

The ED had, in the present case, submitted that conviction under the Arms Act is a triggering point to take action under the PMLA.

--IANS

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