Kanpur violence mastermind Hayat Zafar Hashmi was getting foreign funds, sources told India TV. Police said that a probe was launched into the possibilities of foreign funding to Hayat after it was found that he had received funds into one of his four bank accounts in 2019.
The details of one of his accounts at a private bank in Babupurwa area of Kanpur reveal that a transaction of Rs 3.54 crore was made in his account on July 30, 2019.
An amount of Rs 98 lakh was similarly withdrawn from the same account in September 2021. At present, Rs 1.27 crore are left in this account. The details have been given to the Income Tax department and the matter is also going to be under the supervision of ED.
"First, we are looking into the sources of money and then the purpose for which it was being used. Later, we will ascertain if the transactions were legal," an SIT official said.
Hashmi is the chief of Maulana Mohammed Ali (MMA) Jauhar Fans Association which is a local social group. Hashmi was arrested along with three others from the Hazratganj area of Lucknow for their role in May 3 violence in Kanpur.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has asked the police to investigate if minors were also used as shields in the clashes and initiate action against those responsible. On behalf of the Commission, a letter has been sent to the state police headquarters and the Kanpur's Commissioner of Police directing action against such people under the Child Protection Act.
After coming across the posters that the police had made viral on Monday, a teenager had surrendered at the Colonelganj police station on Tuesday. When the minor boy's family saw his picture on the poster, they took him to the Colonelganj police station.
The Commission has requested that the matter must be investigated by registering a case under the section of the Juvenile Justice Act and the IPC. The Commission has also requested to produce the juvenile, who surrendered in Colonelganj before the Child Welfare Committee.
The violence broke out in Beconganj and adjoining areas of Kanpur on June 3 when some people tried to stage a protest and asked locals to close their business establishments over the alleged religiously insulting remarks made by BJP leader Nupur Sharma. At least a dozen people were injured in the stone pelting and 57 arrests have been made.