NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted searches at 17 locations in seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir in the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) terror funding case. The agency carried out these searches in the Anantnag, Kulgam, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Budgam, Kishtwar and Jammu districts of the Union Territory.
The case was registered by NIA on February 5 this year in connection with 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 organisation have been collecting funds domestically and abroad which are being used for violent and secessionist activities,” said the NIA. “JeI has also been motivating impressionable youth of Kashmir and recruiting new members (Rukuns) in J&K to participate in disruptive secessionist activities,” they said.
Searches conducted on Wednesday included the premises of office bearers and members of JeI, said the anti-terror agency, adding “various incriminating documents and electronic devices were seized from the premises of the suspects during searches. The NIA conducted the search operation along with the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from 6 am today. These raids are in continuation to the anti-terror agency’s 61 raids conducted by its sleuths on August 8 and August 9 in Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal, Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar and Rajouri districts in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said that these searches were carried out after the NIA investigator found “some more leads” in connection with the case during last month questioning of over a dozen JeI suspects linked to the banned organisation. The NIA examined over a dozen JeI suspects for over a week at the agency headquarters here last month. Those JeI suspects examined by the NIA sleuths belonged to Ganderbal, Srinagar, Kupwara, Bandipora, Rajouri and Doda districts, said sources. The NIA is now engaged in ‘building up’ the case as the suspects being questioned are among those JeI cadres whose residential premises were raided by the NIA sleuths during its August 8 and August 9 raids at the 61 locations in 14 districts in Jammu and Kashmir in the terror funding case. The NIA along with Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF had conducted searches at 56 locations on August 8 at 14 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
In continuation of the searches, the NIA sleuths further conducted searches at five more locations on August 9. NIA investigation has so far revealed that the members of JeI 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 funds raised by JeI are also being channelised to proscribed terrorist organisations such as Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and others through well-organised networks of JeI cadres.
