The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday continued raids on separatist leaders and activists to find clinching evidence on supposed funding to fuel secessionism and unrest in Kashmir. Besides raids in Srinagar, the sleuths also raided some business outlets in Jammu, Haryana and New Delhi.
“In continuation of yesterday’s (Saturday) searches at multiple locations in Kashmir, Delhi and Haryana, the NIA took up fresh searches at five more locations belonging to secessionist and separatist elements and traders suspected of hawala activities and terror funding in J & K. Searches were conducted at four places in Kashmir and one place in Jammu,” NIA spokesperson said.
“During the course of searches, Pakistani currency (a few thousand) and currencies belonging to the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been found and seized apart from other incriminating material. The concerned persons are being questioned,” the spokesperson said.
The NIA on Saturday began raids on suspected hawala conduits associated with Kashmiri separatist groups and some select businessmen to investigate alleged hawala funding.
Sources said the agency is conducting searches and subsequent questioning at the residences and offices of at least three separatist leaders or acquaintances that includes Hurriyat spokesperson Ayaz Akbar and Gazi Javaid Baba.
Earlier, the NIA carried out raids at several locations in Kashmir, New Delhi and Haryana on the houses of some separatist leaders and businessmen. About Rs 1.15 crore, two laptops and some other electronic gadgets were seized besides documents pertaining to transactions and properties.
Terming raids by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as a “ploy to create fear psychosis”, the Kashmir business community said that the “witch-hunting campaign is being launched to hurt our economic interests.” They termed it a “ploy to defame Kashmir business community and create fear psychosis.”
The joint separatist leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Yasin Malik and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement said the raids being carried out by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the residences of a few separatist leaders and businessmen are a “planned psychological crackdown aimed at maligning the ongoing movement in Kashmir”. The statement said, “The Indian Government is frustrated to the extent that by framing and arresting pro-freedom leaders and activists, it is trying to silence them so that they stop voicing the sentiments of their nation. By doing so, the statement said, the Government was shielding its atrocities and barbarism against the unarmed, common people”.
Separatists have warned of peoples street protests if these raids were not stopped.
About two dozen officials of NIA that included senior officers arrived in Kashmir on Friday. The team arrived a day after three separatist leaders - Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bita Karatay and Javid Ahmad Baba - returned from NIA New Delhi headquarters where they had been summoned for questioning in a Fund Transaction case. The raids have been conducted after the NIA began inquiry into a television expose that showed three separatists Nayeem Khan, Farooq Dar alias Bitta Karate and Ghazi Baba, who in a sting operation, conceded that separatists have been receiving funds to carry out subservice activities in Kashmir including stone-pelting and arson.
NIA team had raided residential houses of several pro-freedom leaders and a businessman and claimed seizure of cash and other “incriminating material” during the raids.
The NIA team had aided the residence of Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Altaf Fantoosh, son-in-law of Syed Ali Geelani, businessman Zahoor Watali, Hurriyat (M) media advisor Shahid-ul-Islam, and a few other pro-freedom leaders belonging to both factions of the Hurriyat Conference and the JKlF.
Meanwhile, senior PDP leader and State Education Minister Altaf Bukhari ridiculed some Delhi based news channels for portraying Kashmir in a negative way and blamed them for telecasting “a bundle of lies” throughout the day on NIA raids.
He blamed such TV channels for being concerned about the TRP ratings only. He said that “raids take place everywhere and have taken place in Kashmir in the past as well adding Kashmir is beyond these things.”
He alleged some news channels were hell bent upon setting State on fire by reporting false things. The news channels had mentioned names of some prominent businessmen who were not actually raided by the NIA.
The Kashmiri traders also condemned ‘vilification campaign’ against the local businessmen of repute. The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a statement said that Kashmir economy has been passing through crisis for quite some time especially post 2014 floods.
“Such false, malicious and defamatory reporting by a section of electronic media is adding fuel to the fire,” the statement said.