The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA), an investigating body on the lines of the National Investigation Agency, on Saturday carried out multiple raids in Kashmir in a case related to narco-terrorist nexus.
The raids were carried out in Srinagar, Budgam and Kupwara. “These searches were part of an investigation against narcro-terrorists who are financing terror through smuggling hard drugs from Pakistan and selling it in J&K and in other parts of the country,” an SIA spokesman said.
“During the searches, incriminating material including digital weighing machine, cell phones, electronic gadgets, important documents, bank accounts, digital evidence and other incriminating material having a bearing on the investigation of the case were recovered and seized,” the SIA said.
According to the SIA, proscribed terrorist organisation(s) across the border in order to fuel the terrorist activities in J&K are adopting various means and methods to provide logistic support to terrorists. “One of the ways and means is to send consignments of heroin, brown sugar and other contraband substances worth lakhs of rupees and smuggle the same to Valley through their overground workers, conduits, supporters, and other terrorist sympathizers,” the SIA said.
The SIA said these consignments are being sold in markets or smuggled to other parts of the country for sale and proceeds of sale are being ploughed back or passed on to terrorist organizations, terrorists, secessionists and over ground workers to further terrorist and unlawful activities.
Meanwhile, the SIA filed chargesheet against ex-J&K Minister Jatinder Singh alias Babu Singh and three others in a terror funding case.
Besides Mr. Singh, Muhammad Shareef Shah from Anantnag’s Larnoo and Muhammad Hussain Khateeb from Doda’s Bhaderwah were named in the chargesheet in a case ledged in Jammu’s Gandhi Nagar.
Shah was arrested by the Jammu police along with terror fund amounting to ₹6,90,000 “meant for Singh”. “The money was intended to be used for the anti-national activities by Mr. Babu’s party, Nature Mankind Friendly Global Party. Singh was in touch with the terrorists of Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen outfit and separatists of JKLF, an unlawful association,” the SIA said.
The vision document of this party floated by accused Singh was to make J&K, PoK and Gilgit Baltistan as one independent country by making a condominium of Pakistan and India, for having joint control over currency, external affairs and finance, the SIA added.
The SIA said Singh was conducting online meetings and interviews with adversary and, in his online address, compared a terrorist, Maqbool Bhat, with Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
“In one of such online interviews Singh has challenged and threatened the Government of India to desist from further breaking Jammu and Kashmir, this reference is in context of abrogation of Article 370. Anti-national and highly inflammatory content has been recovered by the SIA from the mobile phone of Singh, which establishes his intention to damage and threaten the unity, integrity and sovereignty of India,” the SIA said.
