Bengaluru: The scale of the network of the Inter Services Intelligence for terror funding in India has shocked the Intelligence and enforcement agencies, who were completely taken by surprise by the involvement of someone like Ayesha Bano - the alleged financier of the October 27 Patna blast.
The ISI is reportedly funding terror modules in coastal Karnataka through hawala operations from Saudi Arabia and Ayesha could be among them, said a senior officer on condition of anonymity.
According to sources the interrogation of the recently arrested alleged five hawala operators - Raju Sao from Dhanbad in Jharkhand, Gopal Kumar Goyal, Vikas Kumar, Pawan Kumar and Ganesh Kumar from Lakhisarai district in Bihar led to the arrest of Ayesha.
“Under the guise of a low-profile home maker she was covertly making transactions with an alleged ISI operator IbrÂaÂhim Khan, who had identified and assigned her the task of operating multiple bank accoÂunts in which money, reportedly acquired thrÂoÂugh hawala channels, was remitted and withdrawn from the ATMs by IndÂian MujahÂideen members in Bihar and JhaÂrÂkhand for BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's Patna rally” sources said.
“Ayesha was given commission for each transaction,” said an officer. She was allegedly liaising with Mohd Fayaz and Mohd Kismet from LakhiÂsÂarai, who convinced gullible local Hindus into opening bank accounts to avoid suspicion, he added.
“The banks, which strictly follow the ‘know your customer’ norms will also have to explain how one person managed to open so many accounts,” he said.
Suspects taken to Bihar
Gururaj Paniyadi | DC
Mangalore: Confirming the arrest of Ayesha Banu and her husband Zubair for allegedly transferring fund to the accounts of "suspicious persons", the Bihar Police on Wednesday produced the couple before the third JMFC court in Mangalore and received a transit warrant.
Ayesha, a resident of PanÂÂjimogeru in MangaÂlore, and her husband Zubair were arrested by a team of Bihar and ManÂgÂalore police on Monday night.
The police produced the couple before the court on Wednesday afternoon. The court granted the transit warrant, allowing the Bihar police, who have booked a case against Ayesha, to take the couple to Bihar for inquiries.
Lakhisarai station Sub-Inspector Santosh Kumar Singh confirmed the arrest. He said that four suspects arrested in Bihar had remitted money into the accounts of Ayesha. She withdrew the funds and routed them to varioÂus accounts of “suspicious people,” he said.
The police have not found any link between Ayesha and any terror organisation, he said. The police recovered six passbooks and a few ATM cards of various banks and seven mobile phones from her house. Zubair and Ayesha, along with their four- month-old baby, were taken to Bihar in the evening.
