Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Wednesday conducted raids at five locations in south Kashmir to uncover militant funding, officials said.
The searches were conducted at three places in Anantnag and two in Kulgam in connection with an ongoing investigation of a militant funding case which was registered in police station Anantnag on November 19 under sections 13,17,18,20,38 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 120B, 121A, 121 of the Indian Penal Code. Four days later the case was transferred to the SIA Kashmir.
The primary focus of the investigation is around Zaffar Hussain Bhat, alias Khursheed Kashmiri, a resident of Sirgufwara, Ananatnag and a close associate of Ghulam Nabi Khan, Deputy Chief of Hizbul Mujahideen. Both individuals are designated as militants under the UAPA, declared Proclaimed Offenders and having Red Notices of Interpol issued against them in several militanr funding cases of the National Investigation Agency including the Jammu Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust (JKART) case.
Khursheed Kashmiri is also wanted in Kashmiri Pandit Sanjay Sharma murder case, being investigated by 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 said.
The investigation has found that Hizb, with active connivance of its chief Mohammad Yusuf Shah alias Syed Salahudeen, and the United Jihad Council and handlers of the ‘Hizbul and ‘Lashkar-e-Taiba’ (LeT) militant groups in India, have worked out a detailed militant-funding plan of systematically and regularly financing of their active, arrested militants, families of slain militants and their associates. The funding, amounting to INR 15,000 per member, is intended to sustain militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
The SIA said Khursheed Kashmiri with his associates spread across the valley are raising, collecting, receiving, transporting, distributing and delivering the money to active and arrested militants of HM and their kiths and kin to further 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 SIA said Khursheed Kashmiri uses 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 militant funds.
During the 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, SIA said.
On November 19, a close associate of Khursheed Kashmiri, Majid Aziz Lawey was arrested with militant funds of INR 5 lakh in connection with this case.
