The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 6.34 lakh belonging to Raju Khan in connection with a terror financing case linked to the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Indian Mujahideen (IM). The attachment was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
According to the agency, Khan was one of the key operatives in the financial network that helped channel funds to the banned outfits. The action follows an FIR lodged by Khamtarai Police Station in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
The FIR alleged that funds from unidentified sources in India were being routed through multiple accounts at the behest of one “Khalid,” allegedly based in Pakistan. These amounts were transferred to Zubair Hussain, Aysha Banu, and Raju Khan, who investigators believe acted as conduits for SIMI and IM.
The probe revealed that Dheeraj Sao (alias Dheeraj Kumar), originally from Bihar, operated several bank accounts to divert cash deposits received from various sources. These were later passed on to Khan and other associates, often after layered transactions to conceal the trail.
A forensic audit of Khan’s bank accounts showed deposits of Rs 48.82 lakh, of which nearly Rs 42.47 lakh was transferred to SIMI-IM operatives. Khan allegedly retained Rs 6.34 lakh (13 percent) as commission, which the ED has described as proceeds of crime.
So far, ED has attached both movable and immovable properties worth Rs 9.15 lakh belonging to Khan in connection with the case.
The case dates back to 2011, when police said Dheeraj Sao, then running a chicken cart in Raipur’s Khamtarai area, received a call from Khalid in Pakistan instructing him to open a bank account and transfer money to specific recipients. Sao retained a cut, while the rest was routed to Zubair Hussain, Aysha Banu, and Raju Khan across states.
Sao was arrested in 2013 along with his cousin Shravan, leading to the arrest of Hussain and Banu from Mangalore. However, Khan remained absconding until his arrest in 2021 from Bengal. All the accused are currently lodged in Raipur Central Jail.
Khan has been in judicial custody since December 5, 2021. In December 2023, he was also arrested in a separate Delhi case related to the illegal distribution of SIM cards, which were allegedly used in cyber frauds and identity theft cases across India. Over 180 FIRs have been registered nationwide in connection with this network.
Multiple bail pleas filed by Khan in both the Raipur PMLA case and the Delhi SIM card matter have been rejected by courts.
The ED maintains that Khan was a “vital cog in the SIMI-IM funding network”, acting under the instructions of handlers like Khalid (Pakistan-based) and Dheeraj Sao. The agency has stressed that terror funding operations relied heavily on small operatives like Khan to build a chain of financial transfers, often masked as legitimate deposits.
With the provisional attachment, the ED has intensified its crackdown on terror financing networks, indicating that more assets linked to Khan and his associates could be seized in the coming months.
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