Srinagar: The raids by National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths in Kashmir continue for second day on Sunday.
The NIA sleuths started raiding members of resistance groupings in Kashmir and some businessmen in New Delhi and Harayana over alleged Hawala money transactions from Pakistan to Kashmir.
The move comes after senior Hurriyat Conference (G) member Nayeem Ahmad Khan along with two other resistance activists, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bita Karate, and Javaid Ahmad Baba alias Gazi were grilled by NIA in New Delhi last week.
They had allegedly confessed to receiving money from Pakistan in a purported video run by a Delhi based TV channel.
Khan has ever since been suspended from Hurriyat Conference (G).
Tightening its group around the resistance leadership in Jammu and Kashmir, the sleuths of NIA raided at least fourteen places in Kashmir while eight places in Delhi and NCR were searched wherefrom at Rs 1.5 crore cash was reportedly recovered yesterday.
NIA had earlier registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) case which has been converted in to a Regular Case (RC), however, it has named Pakistan based Hafiz Saeed in to the case for allegedly funding resistance groups in Kashmir.
Name of no resistance leader has been mentioned in the case but the NIA has noted some pro-freedom groups.
The NIA men this morning raided residence of Ayaz Akbar.
Akbar is spokesperson of All Parties Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Geelani.
He lives in Maloora area in the western outskirts of summer capital of J&K.
Yesterday, the NIA raided and thoroughly searched Bemina residence of Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Fantosh who is son-in-law of ailing Geelani.
The NIA men reached Bemina again this morning where they reportedly searched house of a businessmen.
Among others, the NIA raided and searched the houses of many pro-freedom activists and businessmen including Nayeem Ahmad Khan, chief of National Front; Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bita Karate; Altaf Ahmad Shah; Raja Mehraj ud Din Kalwal, Hurriyat Conference (G) leader; Zafar Akbar Bhat; Shahid ul Islam; Noor Kalwal; Zahoor Watali; Raja Zahoor Khan; Muhammad Sultan Tangnuu; Nazir Ahmad Mir alias Nazir Gas; Farooq Ahmad Wani; Muhammad Sultan Chandu; Dr Bashir Ahmad Bhat and others.
NIA conducted raids in New Delhi at eight locations, including in Ballimaran, Greater Kailash, and Pitampura besides two locations in Haryana.
However, the joint resistance leadership said that the NIA crackdown is a “planned psychological crackdown aimed at maligning the ongoing movement in Kashmir”.
“All these state sponsored tactics won’t deter us from pursuing our mission, nor these coercions, suppressive and aggressive measures will make us to surrender,” Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik said in a joint statement.
Kashmir Reader reported today that the government is anticipating arrests in coming days.
“Indian government is frustrated to the extent that by framing and arresting pro-freedom leaders and activists, it is trying to silence them so that they stop voicing the sentiments of their nation,” they said.
By doing so, the statement by resistance leadership said, the government was “shielding its atrocities and barbarism against the unarmed, common people”.
“All these state sponsored tactics won’t deter us from pursuing our mission, nor will these suppressive and aggressive measures make us surrender. Indian agencies under a well thought out plan are desperate to malign and defame our sacred movement. We warn India that these inhuman, immoral and undemocratic tactics will not deter the pro-freedom people from advocating their just cause,” the statement said.
