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NIA team lands in Srinagar to probe if separatist leaders received funds from LeT
YB WEB DESK. Dated: 5/19/2017 6:43:20 PM
The NIA had registered a preliminary enquiry against separatists for alleged involvement in subversive activities and receiving funds from LeT chief Hafiz Saeed.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday reached Srinagar to quiz hardline Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who is alleged to be involved in subversive activities and receiving funds from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed. The latest development comes hours after the NIA had registered a preliminary probe against them.
Naeem Khan, Farooq Ahmed Dar alias ‘Bitta Karate’ and Gazi Javed Baba of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat are among others who have been named in the preliminary enquiry, according to an NIA spokesperson. Khan was also seen on television during a sting operation allegedly confessing to have received money from Pakistan-based terror groups.
The spokesman further alleged that the separatists were receiving funds from Saeed to execute subversive activities in the Kashmir Valley, which included pelting stones at security forces, damaging public property and burning schools and other government establishments.
Reacting to his development, BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said that the accused must be questioned and punished if they are guilty as per the law. “There have been instances and specific reporting about leaders of the Hurriyat conference receiving funds through unapproved and illegal sources,” Kohli was quoted as saying by ANI.
“From this perspective, if they are receiving funds from, for example, somebody in Pakistan in cash beyond the prescribed amount, then they are obviously answerable for it and when we see the situation there, where militants are involved and if these funds are related to terrorism, then the NIA will have to look at it,” he added.
Over the last couple of months, the Valley has witnessed an increase in incidents of violence and militant attacks.