KANPUR: Hayat Zafar Hashmi, the main accused in the June 3 violence in the city, has revealed multiple sources, including builders, traders and political functionaries, who were involved in funding his organisation.
“Hashmi has admitted that he was involved in the crowdfunding. In addition, he received a huge amount through donations from across the state which had come to his Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar fan association. He also admitted that people from several districts of the state are associated with his organisation,” an investigator told TOI on condition of anonymity.
Hashmi and three of his associates, who police claim are members of the Popular Front of India (PFI), were taken on remand on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also approached the Kanpur Police seeking details of these three PFI members – Saifullah, Mohammad Naseem and Mohammad Umar, who were arrested from Kanpur on June 9.
Officials probing the matter said that while Hashmi disclosed the sources of funding, he remained silent on questions related to his direct connection to the June 3 parade and violence after Friday prayers. .
“He tried to save his skin several times by saying that he had taken back the phone given by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma earlier to protest the insult of Prophet in a news channel debate,” the official said.
The other accused, who were arrested along with Hashmi, however, admitted to their involvement in the violence, the official said.
Hashmi and three of his associates have been on two-day remand since Saturday. At a police station in South City, ATS and SIT officials have questioned him and his associates in several rounds.
ATS sources said it has more than two dozen white-collar people on its radar. The officials have prepared the list after a thorough investigation. In this, white-collar people involved in violence helped anti-social elements from behind the stage.
The name of a woman from Lucknow has also come up during the investigation. At the same time, the Lucknow connection of Javed, who was arrested from Lucknow along with Hashmi, is also being investigated.
Meanwhile, the ED is planning to scan the financial transactions of PFI members to find out whether money laundering was done by them. The ED scanner came upon the members of the PFI after the Kanpur police had clues that Hashmi, the main accused, was in contact with the trio and could have possibly received money from them to mobilize the crowd and hold the protests.
Vijay Singh Meena said, “The three, Saifullah, Mohammad Naseem and Mohammad Umar, all associated with the PFI, were also identified during the violence in 2019. He was also arrested in 2019 during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Kanpur Police Commissioner talking to reporters.
ED sources said that first they will take information about the case from Kanpur Police and then investigate the transactions of the three accused and Hayat Zafar.
On June 3, a dozen people were reportedly injured in a clash in Kanpur to protest the alleged ‘insulting’ of Prophet Muhammad during a debate on a leading TV channel. Crowds pelted bombs and pelted stones at each other after groups of people tried to force shopkeepers to shut shutters in Nai Sadak and Yatimkhana areas of the city after Friday prayers.
Last year, the ED, in its chargesheet, had said that the Popular Front of India (PFI) people received finance from abroad and used it to disturb communal harmony in Hathras after the alleged gang rape of a Dalit girl, whose Due to which he died in September 2020.
FacebookTwitterinstagramKu APPyoutube