Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Dec 13: The State Investigation Agency (SIA) Kashmir today conducted searches at five locations in South Kashmir in terror funding case.
The raids were conducted in connection with an ongoing investigation of a terror funding case FIR 311/2023 of PS Anantnag registered on 19th November 2023 under Sections 13,17,18,20,38 and 40 of the UA(P)A, 120B, 121A, 121 of the IPC and transferred to the SIA Kashmir on 23.12.2023.
The raids started in the wee hours of this morning and lasted for several hours. The SIA was assisted by the CRPF during the raids in Kulgam and Anantnag districts.
The SIA said that during today’s searches some crucial digital and documentary evidence like Cell Phones, Pen drives, SIM cards, data cards, bank documents, passports etc relevant to the ongoing investigation were recovered and seized.
“On 19th November 2023, a close associate of Khursheed Kashmiri namely Majid Aziz Lawey s/o Abdul Aziz Laway r/o Liddermatto was arrested with a terror fund to the tune of Rs 5 lakhs in this case,” the statement said.
“It is pertinent to mention here that Zaffar Hussain Bhat alias Khursheed alias Khursheed Kashmiri son of Sunnallah resident of Liver, Pahalgam, Sirgufwara, Anantnag, is a close associate of Ghulam Nabi Khan alias Amir Khan, deputy chief of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and both are notorious designated individual terrorists under the UAPA, declared proclaimed offenders and having Red Notices of Interpol issued against them in several terror funding cases of the NIA including the famous Jammu Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust (JKART) case”.
“Khursheed Kashmiri is also wanted in the Sanjay Sharma murder case of the SIA for his role in arranging and delivering the weapon of offence and also other arms and ammunition consignments at different locations in Jammu and Kashmir through his network of associates,” the SIA statement read.
“Hizbul Mujahideen with active connivance of Mohd Yusuf Shah alias Syed Salahudeen, chief of HM and the United Jihad Council and handlers of ‘Hizbul-Mujahideen’ (HM) and ‘Lashkar-e-Toiba’ (LeT), proscribed terrorist organisations in India, had worked out a detailed terror-funding plan of systematically and regularly financing of their active, arrested terrorists, families of killed terrorists and their associates, belonging to these proscribed terrorist organizations ar Rs 15000 per member so as to sustain terrorism in J&K”.
“Zaffar Hussain Bhat alias Khursheed Kashmiri with his associates spread across Kashmir are raising, collecting, receiving, transporting, distributing and delivering the terror money to active and arrested terrorists of HM and their kith and kin to further terrorist, unlawful, subversive and secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and other places of India and also to disturb the communal harmony, spread disaffection towards India and challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country by waging war against India,” the statement said.
The SIA said that Bhat used VoIP based encrypted messaging applications to communicate with his associates to plan, control and execute their movements and also to share the lists of the beneficiaries of these terror funds.