J-K: NIA Conducts Raids at Businessman’s House in Terror Funding Case

"In view of these misgivings, it is incumbent upon the organisation to come clean on its investigations in the state so that the misgivings which its conduct has given rise to are cleared forthwith," Mufti said.

Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was conducting raids at the house of a businessman in Srinagar’s Lal Bazar area in connection with a terror funding case, reported ANI on Tuesday. Fayaz Ahmad’s house was raided. (Also read: NIA Issues Non-bailable Warrant Against Malegaon Blast Accused)

Recently, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had asked the NIA to make public all the facts in its investigations in the state so that “no misgivings” about the agency’s conduct were created among the people. In a statement, Mufti said bringing facts about its investigations in the state into public is all the more necessary for the NIA in view of the remarks made by a division bench of the Delhi High Court in its judgement while disposing of a case related to such probes a week ago.

The PDP president said, during the recent past, many complaints had been put forth in the state that those accused by the NIA had remote connections with the accusations levelled against them or were feeling “harassed” after the raids by the agency sleuths. Those accused by the NIA and whose premises had been raided included family members of some separatist leaders, businessmen and media owners, she said.

“In view of these misgivings, it is incumbent upon the organisation to come clean on its investigations in the state so that the misgivings which its conduct has given rise to are cleared forthwith,” Mufti said. This, she said, would go a long way in instilling public faith in the institutions of the country and the state.

A couple of months ago, the NIA had arrested Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin’s son. Syed Shakeel Ahmad was arrested from Rambagh area and his residence was also raided in the early hours, said Zee news. The NIA has been probing the alleged foreign funding to separatists and terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir. Shakeel is the second son of Salahuddin. His brother Syed Shahid is already languishing in Tihar Jail, Delhi, after being arrested in a money-laundering case.