Court allows Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah plea for video conferencing in PMLA case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday allowed a plea of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah seeking his production before it through video conference, apprehending threat to life. Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma extended the judicial custody of Shah and his co-accused Mohammed Aslam Wani till 13 September, their advocate MS Khan said. [caption id=“attachment_3459782” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Shabir Shah. CNN-News 18[/caption] Shah was earlier denied bail by the court on 22 August after the Enforcement Directorate’s advocate Naveen Kumar Matta said the agency was probing whether he had received money from “enemy countries” like Pakistan to promote terrorism in India. Shah was arrested last month by the ED, a day after several Hurriyat leaders were taken into custody of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) in a case of alleged terror funding in the valley to fuel unrest. He was arrested in connection with the August 2005 case in which the Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested 35-year old Wani, an alleged hawala dealer who is currently in ED custody, claiming that Rs 63 lakh was recovered from Wani, of which Rs 52 lakh was allegedly to be delivered to Shah. The agency had earlier issued summonses to Shah in the case, the prosecution had said, adding that Wani had claimed he had given Rs 2.25 crore to Shah. Wani was arrested earlier in August. Investigating agencies such as the NIA had cracked down on Hurriyat leaders, arresting Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s son-in-law — Altaf Ahmed Shah, also known as Altaf Fantoosh — and six other Kashmiri separatists.