Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids against members of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in the Kashmir valley for a second day Monday, officials said.
NIA sleuths, along with police and the CRPF personnel, Monday carried out searches at five places in north Kashmir’s Bandipora, a day after raids at 56 locations across the 10 districts of Kashmir and four — Ramban, Kishtwar, Doda and Rajouri districts of the Jammu province. “During the searches, various incriminating documents and electronic devices were seized from the premises of the suspects,” an NIA spokesperson said.
The raids on the premises of office-bearers of Jamat e Islami, it’s members and also the offices of trusts purportedly run by the JeI were conducted more than two years after the sociopolitical and religious group was banned by the Centre under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
In February 2019, the Centre announced to ban the JeI for five years on the grounds that it was “in close touch” with militant outfits and was expected to “escalate secessionist movement” in the erstwhile state.
A notification banning the group under the UAPA was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after a high-level meeting on security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hundreds of JeI activists were arrested in a major crackdown across Jammu and Kashmir following the ban, which came just months ahead of the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and its division into two union territories in August 2019.
The NIA said a case was registered on February 5, 2021 in pursuance of an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs relating to separatist and secessionist activities of the JeI despite its proscription on February 28, 2019.
It said “the members of the organisation have been collecting funds domestically and from 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”, adding that “the funds raised by the JeI are also being channelised to militant organisations such as Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and others through well organised networks of JeI cadres”.
