Increased Surveillance By Security Agencies Leaves People Jittery In Kashmir

In October 2020, several police vehicles zipped through a small lane in the affluent area of Jawahar Nagar in Srinagar. Within no time, a multi-storey brick-and-concrete building of the Jammu and Kashmir Yateem Foundation (JKYF) orphanage was surrounded by a large number of police personnel. Founder member of JKYF, Mohammad Yaqoob Reshi, grew worried over the raids, not knowing why they were carried out.

“I grew worried after I learnt about the raids. I was at my home in Shopian and rushed to Srinagar after I learnt about the searches. Our orphanages were raided both in Srinagar and Kulgam,” says Reshi.

The orphanages faced the raids by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a case that has been registered over alleged “ channelising of funds through NGOs, trusts, and societies for secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.”

Reshi, however, says they had no connection to the separatist activities and that the NGO has been raising money through public donations. The JKYM has, however, been running programmes to provide education to the orphan children, including those of militants. “We have not only been educating the children of militants, but also other orphans as well. We have expanded the programme and children of militants are no longer enrolled,” adds Reshi.

The raids at JKYF are among the measures that have been initiated by the authorities as a means of increased surveillance, which has, however, left the people concerned. In Kashmir, the routine roadside frisking has taken a new dimension with security officials also asking people to divulge their mobile phone numbers apart from recording the vehicle details. At some places, security force personnel also shoot videos of people driving vehicles, which has also raised privacy concerns.

The police verifications have been made necessary to bag government jobs, and even lawyers are issued practice licenses only after clearance from the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID). On the other hand, traders in Kashmir have also expressed concern that they are often being called to the police stations for failure to install the CCTVs. The government had earlier warned of registering cases if the business establishments were not covered with CCTVs.

In April 2022, Srinagar police, through a social media post, warned of penal action in case people fail to cover their business establishments with CCTV cameras. “It is requested of all establishments in Srinagar to install CCTVs as instructed via DM Srinagar order dated 5th April 2022. Non-compliance with this order may lead to penal action and FIR. 19th April is the last date for compliance. CCTVs are for your own protection and deterrence,” read a post on X made by the Srinagar police.

Mohammad Hussain Wani, a Srinagar resident, says they are often being summoned by the security agencies asking them to install the CCTVs. “ Security officials recently called us to a police station asking why we have not installed the CCTVs,” adds Wani, who runs a shop in Srinagar’s Shalteng area.

On the requirement for police clearance for licenses for lawyers, Waseem Gul, president of Kashmir Advocates Association, says that, besides the police verification, clearance from the Bar Council is necessary for lawyers to practice in the courts in the Union Territory. “The police verifications are necessary and are aimed at assessing that a person was not facing any moral turpitude. The Bar Councils in other states are independent bodies, but Jammu and Kashmir is the only place where it is headed by the chief justice. The clearance of the Bar Council is also required for people to practice as lawyers,” he says.

As part of its stepped up surveillance measures, authorities in the Union Territory have also issued orders warning Muslim charitable institutions from raising public donations without prior authorisation. In February this year, the district administration of Kishtwar issued an order under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, stating that no individual, NGO, trust, society, or committee shall collect donations in the district without a valid registration and only after a clearance from the government or the local Waqaf Board unit. “ The Senior Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar, and all SDMs / Tehsildars, shall ensure strict enforcement of this order in letter and spirit. Any person or entity found engaging in suspicious or clandestine fundraising shall be dealt with strictly under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and other applicable preventive laws,” the order read.

According to a senior official of Jammu and Kashmir’s Social Welfare department, apart from the monitoring of the charitable institutions carried out by the DCs, NGOs are also required to register with the department.

However, in October 2020, when the NIA officials raided the JKYF orphanages, they also searched the premises of another NGO in Srinagar’s Nawakadal area. Staff working with the NGO say that the officials seized their records. “We have been working to extend monetary help to the poor people and don’t understand why the raids were conducted,” an official working with the NGO says, wishing to remain anonymous. Among the services that are being rendered by the NGO are the financial and medical assistance to poor people, as well as sponsoring the education of children.

An information brochure of the NGO states about its work, that it was “ founded on the belief that every individual, regardless of their circumstances, deserves a chance at a dignified life, we have dedicated ourselves to turning this belief into reality.”

An NIA official posted in Delhi says that they have carried out raids on some NGOs to ensure that their assets were not used for subversive activities.

But the JKYM also enlists programmes like marriage assistance to poor girls, medical aid, and ambulance services to the people as its welfare measures. However, in 2020, when the NIA officials searched their premise, they carefully checked the records of the organisation and seized the account books as well. “We are working transparently and our aim is to uplift the downtrodden sections of society,” says Reshi. Apart from the public donations, the JKYM has also been receiving assistance from people in the shape of Islamic charities.