Kolkata, 2 June (H.S.): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has uncovered a potentially alarming link between a shop in Kolkata’s Mominpur area and suspected ISI agent Matiram Jat, arrested prior to the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. According to NIA sources, the shop is suspected of having facilitated multiple money transfers to the agent’s account, raising concerns of a broader terror funding network.
Investigations reveal that funds were transferred to Matiram Jat’s bank account on four separate occasions from the same Mominpur-based shop. The transactions included ₹13,500, ₹15,000, ₹5,000, and finally ₹22,000 — the last of which was sent on March 25, just days before the Pahalgam attack. NIA is currently examining whether the funds were sent via a hawala channel, commonly used in illicit financial networks.
On Sunday, NIA officials questioned Mohammad Wakil, an ex-serviceman employed at a hotel in the Topsia area. Sources indicate Wakil also transferred funds to Matiram via e-wallets. Investigators suspect that these transactions were intended to reach ISI handlers in Pakistan, suggesting a complex money trail routed through intermediaries.
The breakthrough came following a raid conducted by the NIA on Saturday at the Mominpur shop in question. The agency has summoned the shop owner for interrogation and is scrutinizing the CCTV footage to identify individuals who physically deposited the money.
Officials believe the transfers may have been orchestrated by an individual in Kolkata or a nearby state with links to the ISI. While the shopkeeper's direct involvement is still under investigation, authorities suspect he may have unknowingly contributed to a larger espionage and terror-funding network.
The NIA is now mapping out the entire funding chain, attempting to uncover others who may be involved in this clandestine operation. The agency is focusing on identifying potential local operatives and determining whether more financial channels were used to support subversive activities.
This development adds another layer to the growing concern over ISI's infiltration strategies and highlights Kolkata’s potential emergence as a hub in underground terror funding networks. The investigation is ongoing.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh