New Delhi, April 29: The Patiala House Court has formally charged Dr. Bilkis Shah, wife of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah, under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The court has directed her to appear on May 20.
The court noted that Dr. Bilkis Shah worked as a doctor in a government hospital, earning a modest salary of approximately ₹26,000 per month. Despite this, her income was insufficient to sustain her lifestyle, raising suspicions about her financial activities.
According to the court, the properties acquired by Dr. Bilkis were claimed to be gifts from her two sisters for her minor daughters in 2005. However, during the investigation, her sisters stated that the properties were purchased by their father, Mohammad Iqbal Rather, for ₹900,000 in 1997. Iqbal Rather failed to provide any documentary evidence to justify the acquisition of these properties through legitimate means.
The court found that the information provided by Shah was inadequate to justify the cash payments made for the land purchased in the names of her two daughters. Further investigations revealed that the entire transaction involving the land purchase and subsequent gifting was conducted in a manner that suggested it was done anonymously. In 2017, the court had already charged Shabir Shah and Mohammad Aslam Wani in this case.
Additionally, the court has extended the National Investigation Agency (NIA) remand of separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah by ten days. Shah was arrested by the NIA in Delhi and was presented in an NIA court in Jammu on April 18, where he was placed in a ten-day remand. Before the remand expired, he was brought back to the NIA court, which approved the extension. It is noteworthy that Shah was previously serving a sentence in a terror funding case but was recently released on bail.
Arpit Soni has had a passion for journalism since the beginning. Now he has turned this hobby into his profession. Arpit, who is a resident of Udaipur, enjoys editing and writing news related to journalism. He has worked as a Senior Content Producer in several important roles at Bhaskar, Patrika, Pratahkal, Punjab Kesari, and Times. Arpit completed his schooling in Udaipur and Jaipur. He has been working in the media industry for more than 10 years, and his journey is still continuing. ✍️📚
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