Bangladeshi national among two convicted for terror financing in Burdwan blast case

A Bangladeshi national belonging to the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has been convicted by a Kolkata court on charges of money laundering and terror financing in connection with Burdwan blast case of October 2014.

An Indian national too has been convicted in the case. This is probably the second case in which a foreign national has been found guilty by a court under the stringent provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), The Hindu reported. 

The Bangladesh national identified as Rahamatulla was a senior JMB leader. The Indian national was identified as Mohammed Burhan. 

"They have been convicted by the sessions court in Kolkata under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case relating to terror financing," said an official.

"Court hearing on the quantum of sentence will be held on March 17. Charges have been framed against the third accused, Mohammed Yusuf, who is the main conspirator of JMB in India for financing terror activities. Further trial proceedings will be conducted against him," added the official. 

The case was registered on the basis of an FIR lodged by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

The NIA probe was into a bomb explosion on October 2, 2014, in a house in West Bengal's Burdwan that claimed two lives and caused injuries to many.

"It was part of a larger conspiracy of JMB, a terrorist organisation that operates primarily in Bangladesh. The ED identified the properties of the accused persons during the money laundering investigation," the official said.
A property in Burdwan was jointly acquired by Rahamatulla and Burhan.

"Investigation further revealed that a huge amount of money was paid in cash to the property owner to conceal the proceeds of crime. The accused persons undervalued the property in the registered deed," the official said.
The Enforcement Directorate also traced a bank account opened by Rahamatulla using forged identification papers. It issued two orders for the attachment of assets, which were confirmed by the PMLA Adjudicating Authority. 

Subsequently, a charge sheet was filed against three accused persons in November 2018. Based on the evidence, the court convicted two of them.