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The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) yesterday informed a Nashik court about an alleged hawala transaction that took place between various suspects, since arrested, in the Malegaon blast case at the behest of Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit.
The police are studying bank statements of the accused to track the trail of the hawala money. The police also wanted custody of two suspects Ajay Rahikar and Rakesh Dhavade to obtain information on the hawala trail. The court, however, has sent the two to judicial custody till November 17.
The ATS told the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate K N Boche that Rahikar had received Rs 10 lakh in his SBI account in Pune, which, according to Purohit's remand application filed by the ATS on Wednesday, was meant to be distributed among accomplices involved in the September 29 Malegaon blast.
"Purohit asked Rahikar to pay associates like Jagdish Mhatre and Rakesh Dhavade. Purohit's role in arranging and distributing funds was already established. Mhatre and Dhavade also bought arms with the money recovered by us,'' the ATS stated in Rahikar and Dhavade's remand application.
Money for terror
The ATS told the court yesterday that they recovered Rs 70,500 from Rahikar's residence in Indore. Rahikar allegedly paid Rs 95,000 to Sameer Kulkarni, Rs 1.95 lakh to Ramesh Upadhyay, Rs 3.20 lakh to Rakesh Dhavade and Rs 3,98,500 to Jagdish Mhatre. | 
