LeT terrorist behind Red Fort attack arrested after 17 years
Bilal Ahmed Kawa, a key suspect involved in the December 22, 2000 terror shoot-out at Red Fort, was arrested on Wednesday evening from Delhi airport. A joint team of the Delhi Police special cell and anti-terrorist squad of Gujarat Police nabbed the 37-year-old suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist after 17 years of extensive search, reported Hindustan Times. Read on for more.
What was Bilal doing at the Delhi airport?
According to the police, Bilal had landed in Delhi from Srinagar, where he had been hiding all these years as a manufacturer of leather jackets. Though he is still being interrogated at the Lodhi Colony special cell, Bilal has reportedly confessed to visiting Delhi every year for business. Bilal has denied his role in the attack. However, investigators claim to possess enough evidence against him.
The Red Fort shootout in 2000
Six LeT terrorists had opened fire at the Red Fort on December 22, 2000, killing three security-men. The Fort's army retaliated but failed to nab the terrorists, who had sneaked into the complex on the pretext of watching the light-and-sound show. The police filed an FIR against prime accused Ashfaq Ahmed and 21 others, but charges were finally pressed against only 11, including Bilal.
This is how the attack was funded
To fund the attack, Rs. 29.5 lakh was transferred in Bilal Ahmed's name through hawala and various bank accounts, reported Hindustan Times. The money was deposited by Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq Ahmed, the mastermind behind the attack, police investigations have found out. It is suspected that Ashfaq received the amount through hawala from his Pakistani handlers.
