The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday continued its searches at 11 locations in Kashmir, Jammu, Gurugram and Haryana in connection with its probe into the funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir Valley and seized three arms from a close aide of separatist Shabir Shah.
The NIA also raided the residence of prominent separatist Shia leader Aga Syed Hussain Badgami, who is also part of Syed Ali Shah Geelani-headed faction of the Hurriyat Conference.
The authorities also took senior separatist leader Yasin Malik into custody and detained chairmen of both the factions of Hurriyat Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq inside their homes to prevent their travel to Delhi to court arrest in protest against continued raids by the NIA in Jammu & Kashmir.
Malik was arrested from his Maisuma residence and later lodged in Central Jail Srinagar. Geelani and Mirwaiz were placed under house arrest and large contingents of police were deployed outside their houses.
The three leaders had on Wednesday announced that they would travel to Delhi and court arrests at the NIA headquarters. Sources said the trio was scheduled to hold a meeting to chalk out strategy. Geelani has been put under house arrest for more than five years.
An NIA spokesman said the searches have been conducted in connection with the J&K terror funding case and loC trade case.
The NIA began its investigation in May this year to find out if foreign funding was used for stone-pelting and subversive activities in Kashmir.
The NIA said two prominent separatist leaders Ghulam Nabi Sumji and Syed Aga Hassan Budgami's residences were searched besides close aides of detained Shabbir
Shah (Zameer Sheikh and Razzaq Choudhary). Sumji, a millionaire from South Kashmir's Bijbehara, has been a legislator of Muslim United Front in 1987 and was acting chairman of Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference at various occasions.
The spokesman said offices of the chartered accountants of 'hawala operator' Zahoor Watali was also searched in Gurugram.
During searches, fixed deposits worth over Rs 1 crore, and lots of incriminating material, suspect financial records, property-related documents and electronic devices have been seized, the spokesman said. “Searches are still
continuing and the suspects are being questioned about the incriminating recoveries made from them”.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju dismissed objections to the investigation by the NIA into the J&K terror funding saying the ongoing probe of the anti-terror agency should not be linked with politics. “The NIA is doing its duty. It is working in national interest. No one should object it. No one should mix it with politics,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function.