In continuation of Saturday's searches at multiple locations in Kashmir, Delhi and Haryana, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday conducted raids on five more locations belonging to secessionists, separatists and traders suspected of hawala activities and terror funding in J&K.
The raids are underway at four places in Kashmir and one place in Jammu. During the searches, NIA officials recovered some currency notes from Pakistan, UAE and Saudi Arabia, besides other incriminating material. The officials are questioning the concerned persons regarding the currency notes recovered.
In a pre-dawn swoop, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday raided 23 locations in Kashmir, Haryana and the national capital in connection with a case of alleged funding received by separatist groups for carrying out subversive activities in the Valley.
Advertisement
After registering an FIR earlier this week, various NIA teams, which had been camping in the Valley for few days, moved under heavy escort from their camp office located at Humhama, on the outskirts of the Srinagar city.
Among those raided by the NIA were Altaf Fantoosh, the son-in-law of hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, businessman Zahoor Watali, Shahid-ul-Islam, leader of Awami Action Committee led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, and some second rung separatist leaders belonging to both factions of the Hurriyat Conference and the JKLF.
The agency seized nearly Rs 1.5 crore from various locations in the Kashmir Valley, besides documents which were being scrutinised, officials said.
Advertisement
This is for the first time since militancy raised its ugly head in early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with terror funding to separatists which has been used for carrying out subversive activities in the Valley.
Earlier in 2002, Income Tax department had carried out searches against separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and other documents. However, no criminal case had been registered then.
While no separatist leader from the Valley has been named in the FIR registered by the NIA, organisations like the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen, Dukhtaran-e-Milat and Lashker-e- Taiba besides Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah Hafeez Saeed have been mentioned.
The separatists were allegedly receiving funds from the chief of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), Hafiz Saeed, to carry out subversive activities in the Kashmir Valley, including pelting stones at security forces, damaging public property and burning schools and other government establishments.
