On Thursday, November 3, Delhi Court framed charges against former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Councillor Tahir Hussain in the money laundering case related to the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi riots, reports Live Law.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat filed charges against Tahir Hussain under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, which is punishable under Section 4.
The court has also denied statutory bail to Hussain in the case.
ASJ Amitabh Rawat has framed charges against Tahir Hussain under section 3 which is punishable under section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.#DelhiRiots #TahirHussain #ED
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) November 4, 2022
In the order passed yesterday, the court asserted, “In view of the statutory provisions and the law discussed above, the transactions of Tahir Hussain, as detailed above, in a conspiracy to fraudulently withdraw money from the accounts of certain companies owned or controlled by him through bogus and malafide transactions with bogus entry operators on the strength of fake bills with him being the beneficiary and with intent putting it to use towards riots, then accused Tahir Hussain would be set to be deriving or obtaining property as a result of criminal activity associated with/relatable to scheduled offence as the proceeds of crime and will be guilty of money laundering.”
Basically, after reviewing the contents of the complaint, associated papers, and witness statements, the court concluded that Tahir Hussain committed money laundering while operating in the conspiracy and the proceeds of crime created by the conspiracy were used to fuel disturbances, said the judge.
“In view of the above discussion, I am of the view that there is sufficient material on record, prima facie, creating grave suspicion against the accused for framing charge against him and to proceed further with the trial of the case,” the court added.
The court has now listed the matter for hearing on November 14, when the formal charges would be framed against the former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain.
Notably, the court has taken cognisance of the matter in 2020 after the Enforcement Directorate had filed a complaint against Tahir Hussain under Sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 for the commission of the offence of money laundering.
In August 2020, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) released a statement informing about the arrest of radical Islamist and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
The investigation is being conducted by the ED under the PMLA on the basis of First Information Reports (FIRs) that have been filed by the Delhi Police, Crime Branch, and Dayalpur Police Station that had pressed charges against Tahir Hussain under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 385 (creating fear for extortion), which are cognizable offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Tahir Hussain transferred funds from his companies to fuel riots
The ED in its statement has revealed that Tahir Hussain had transferred large sums of money to fraudulent operators via companies that are either owned or controlled by him and his relatives. The operators had then returned the funds to him in cash, which was then utilised to fuel violence during the Anti-Hindu riots of Delhi in February this year. Moreover, a probe into his companies by the ED has unearthed money laundering scams by Hussain in the past.
ED recovers fake invoices; grills Hussain in jail
In its statement, the Enforcement Directorate informed that on June 23 they conducted raids at several residential and business holdings of the former AAP councillor and his associates in Delhi, Noida and Greater Noida. During the search, the central investigative agency recovered ‘incriminating documents’ and evidence including fake invoices. According to the ED, fake invoices were used to transfer money fraudulently. Recently, Hussain has been questioned in Tihar jail by the ED while he was in the custody of the Delhi Police.
The role of Tahir Hussain in Delhi Anti-CAA riots
Tahir Hussain in his confession during the interrogation of Delhi Police said that Khalid Saifi, who is very close to him, planned the riots with him. He once told him that his political position and money should be used against Hindus and for the community. He promised Saifi that he will always be ready to take any step. After the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Ram Lalla Virajman and the Indian government passed Citizen Amendment Act tabled by Home Minister Amit Shah, Tahir and Khalid met and decided that this was the time they have to act.
The charge sheet pertaining to FIR 114 states that Tahir played a vital role in burning several Hindu shops in the Khajuri Khas area along with his accomplices. During the investigation, police found out that he had instigated a mob during the riots of 24th and 25th February 2020 saying that Hindus have killed many Muslims and had set their shops on fire on Sherpur Chowk. The charge sheet says, “Only 64 live cartridges and 22 empty cartridges were recovered at his instance. During interrogation, he could not give an account of the remaining 14 live cartridges and 22 empty/fired cartridges, when and where the same were fired/used.”
