SRINAGAR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday carried out searches at 56 locations in 14 districts of Jammu and Kashmir in the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) terror funding case.
The NIA along with Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) conducted searches in Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal, Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, and Rajouri. The case was registered by NIA on February 5 this year in pursuance of an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs relating to separatist and secessionist activities of JeI, an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, even after its proscription on February 28, 2019.
“The members of the organization have been collecting funds domestically and abroad through donations particularly in the form of Zakat, Mowda, and Bait-ul-Mal purportedly to further charity and other welfare activities but these funds are instead being used for violent and secessionist activities,” the NIA said in a statement. The funds raised by JeI are also being channelized to proscribed terrorist organizations such as Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), and others through well-organized networks of JeI cadres, said the anti-terror agency.
“JeI has also been motivating impressionable youth of Kashmir and recruiting new members (Rukuns) in Jammu and Kashmir to participate in disruptive secessionist activities,” it said. Searches conducted on Sunday included the premises of office bearers of the proscribed association, its members, and also offices of trusts purportedly run by JeI.
During the searches, the NIA claimed to have recovered various incriminating documents and electronic devices from the premises of the suspects.
