What has for past several years appeared an innocuous even if an illegal side ‘‘business’’, namely cattle trade, could be a hidden source of terror funding, say top UP government officials. A substantial part of the Rs 15,000 crore illegal trade is being funelled to fund terror, according to officials.
The connection between cattle smuggling and big crime first came to light when one Mizanur Rehman turned out to be the key accused in the kidnapping of Kolkata-based proprietor of Khadim Shoes, Partho Burman. MizanurÂ’s younger brother, Azizur Rehman Sardar, 22, was found to be a Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI) activist serving time in Lucknow jail. Mizanur was also known to be the trusted aide of HuJI area commander Jalaluddin, alias Babu Bhai, who too is in Lucknow jail. A part of the Rs 4 crore ransom in the Burman abduction case was suspected to have been diverted to Omar Sheikh, one of the alleged killers of US journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. |