School, religious place searched in Nagrota for foreign funds
*Electronic gadgets, many other items seized
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Oct 27: The National Investigating Agency (NIA) today carried out raids at 17 locations of outlawed Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) outfit in seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir in connection with terror funding case and recovered number of incriminating documents, electronic gadgets etc.
Searches were carried out in different districts of both Jammu and Kashmir divisions and were aimed at detecting bank accounts, financial transactions and other modes of funding to the organization in view of inputs gathered during previous round of raids across different offices and residential premises of the JeI cadre. Click here to watch video
“Second round of raids on Jamaat cadre was necessitated as questioning of some of those connected with the outfit had given vital clues to the NIA about involvement of more persons in terror funding and mobilization of funds from different organizations not only within the country but abroad,” reliable sources told the Excelsior.
Seven districts where searches were carried out today include Jammu and Kishtwar in Jammu region and Anantnag, Kulgam, Ganderbal, Bandipora and Budgam in Kashmir division.
In Jammu district, the NIA sleuths raided Islamic School and a religious place connected to it at Noor Mohalla in Bajalata area of Nagrota on the outskirts of Jammu City.
A Moulvi Ghulam Rasool son of Nazir Ahmad, originally a resident of village Patnazi in Kishtwar district and presently putting up at Bajalata, was subjected to questioning in connection with funding to the organization. However, he hadn’t been arrested till late this evening when the reports last came in.
Sources said he was subjected to questioning only in connection with funding as the NIA wanted to know exact source of funding and spending of the amount received from various places in the country as well as abroad.
Construction works at Bajalata was originally done by Ghulam Nabi Faridabadi affiliated with JeI and Hurriyat Conference.
Reports said that the organization had received certain foreign funding also for which the NIA conducted searches to seize the documents and question the concerned persons. Some documents have, however, been recovered.
In Kishtwar district also, the NIA searched house of Ghulam Rasool at Peer Mohalla at Patnazi Bounjwah and seized a cell phone among other items.
An official said that NIA sleuths along with the Jammu and Kashmir Police raided the house of a leader of JeI, Ghulam Mohammad Dar son of Abdul Aziz Dar at Gotapora in district Budgam. The searches were conducted for several hours during which some documents were seized.
The NIA also raided JeI leader Ghulam Mohammad Ganie son of Mohammad Sultan Ganie of Patrigam Chadoora who is also an Imam of a local mosque. The raids were also conducted at the house of Ghulam Rasool Wani son of Abdul Ahad Wani at Arina in district Bandipora. Wani was an employee of Health Department but is now retired.
The house of JeI leader Ghulam Ahmed Lone sof Mohammad Sultan Lone of Gundpora Rampora who is a retired Government teacher was also raided by the NIA.
An official statement by the NIA released this evening said the investigating agency conducted searches at 17 locations in Anantnag, Kulgam, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Budgam, Kishtwar and Jammu districts of J& K in case RC-03/2021/NIA/DLI.
“The case was registered by NIA on February 5, 2021 in connection with separatist and secessionist activities of JeI, an unlawful association under the UA(P) 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. JeI has also been motivating youth of Kashmir and recruiting new members (Rukuns) in J&K to participate in disruptive secessionist activities,” the official statement said.
It added that the searches were conducted today at the premises of office bearers and members of JeI.
During the searches, various incriminating documents and electronic devices were seized from the premises of the suspects, the NIA statement said.
Investigation in the case are still on, it further said.
The NIA conducted the search operation along with Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from 6 am which continued till this evening.
These raids were 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.
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, the sources said.
“We are looking for some more people linked to the JeI case and they will be summoned very soon as the examination is an ongoing process,” said the officials.
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.
The searches included the premises of office bearers of the JeI, its members and also offices of trusts purportedly run by the proscribed organisation. Various incriminating documents and electronic devices were seized from the premises of the suspects.
JeI is an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) banned the organisation on February 28, 2019.
The case was registered by NIA on February 5 this year in pursuance of to order from MHA relating to separatist and secessionist activities of JeI even after its proscription.
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 channelized to proscribed militant organisations such as Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and others through well-organised networks of JeI cadres.
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