Terror funding: NIA searches 7 more locations in Srinagar, Jammu, Gurgaon; incriminating material found
The National Investigation Agency today recovered currencies of Pakistan, UAE and Saudi Arabia as it conducted raids for the second consecutive day on Sunday at seven more locations belonging to separatists and traders suspected of hawala activities in Srinagar, Jammu and Gurgaon. The NIA has been probing funding to separatists to fuel unrest in the Valley.
The residence of Ayaz Akbar Bhat, a close aide of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani, at Maloora, Srinagar, was searched for at least five hours. Raids also took place at the residence of Javed Ahmed Baba, alias Gazi, who is also part of Geelani’s Hurriyat, and a cross-LoC trader, Tariq Ahmed Khan, at Pantha Chowk on the outskirts of Srinagar.
“Fresh searches were carried at seven more locations belonging to secessionist and separatist elements and traders suspected of hawala activities and terror funding in J&K. Searches were also carried out at one place in Jammu. The Gurgaon residence of businessman Zahoor Watali (whose house in Srinagar was raided on Saturday) was also searched.
During the course of raids, a few thousand Pakistani rupees and currencies belonging to the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been found and seized apart from other incriminating material. The persons concerned are being questioned about the same,” an official spokesman of the NIA said, adding that the searches were continuing.
The NIA is probing the entire chain of players behind the financing of secessionist activities, including throwing of stones on security forces, burning of schools and damaging government establishments
On Saturday, the NIA had raided 26 locations in J&K, Delhi and Haryana and recovered letterheads of militant groups Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen, besides cash worth a few crores, gold jewellery and coins worth about Rs 40 lakh, from financiers, hawala operators and office-bearers of separatist groups, the NIA had said.
Prominent among those whose houses were searched yesterday included businessmen Zahoor Watali and Raja Zahoor Khan and separatists Farooq Ahmad Dar, alias Bitta Karate, Nayeem Khan and Shahid-ul-Islam. The bank accounts and lockers of those under scanner have been frozen.
The NIA raids have been carried out following the questioning of three separatist leaders — Nayeem Khan, who was seen on television during a sting operation purportedly confessing to receiving money from Pakistan-based terror groups, Farooq Ahmed Dar, and Gazi Javed Baba of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, in the national Capital last month.
Meanwhile, the moderate Hurriyat Conference while condemning the raids said people of Kashmir were “mature enough to understand that such arm-twisting tactics to scare the leadership and malign them are actually attempts to take away the focus from the problem in Kashmir and distort the narrative of the Kashmir dispute.”
Fruit dealer detained in Jammu
The NIA on Sunday conducted a raid and seized documents at a fruit dealer’s shop in Jammu. The businessman, Kamal Aggarwal, has been detained for questioning. The NIA team reached Jammu in the morning to conduct the raid. Aggarwal, a well-known businessman of the city, is also a member of the LoC traders association. The NIA is probing a link between LoC traders and separatists. “The NIA is investigating the role of businessmen in exploiting the fault lines in the LoC trade, which is helping separatists get money easily and without much risk,” a source said.
