SRINAGAR: A special court in Delhi has framed charges against four persons in the Jammu Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust (JKART) funding case. It is alleged that the Trust was a front through which Hizbul Mujahideen received Rs 80 crore between 2004 and 2011 to carry out militant activities in India.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in a release today that the NIA special court, Patiala House, framed charges against Mohammad Shafi Shah, Talib Lali, Muzaffar Ahmad Dar and Mushtaq Ahmad Lone on Friday under sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The NIA registered the case in 2011. The accused based in Pakistan include Hizbul chief Syed Salahuddin, his deputy Ghulam Nabi Khan, JKART chairman Mehboob-ul-Haq, its general secretary Masroor Dar, Masood Sarfaraz and Ameer, belonging to Hizb-e-Islami, a Pakistan-based organisation supporting militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir, the release by the agency said.
The NIA has submitted a charge sheet against 12 accused, including Salahuddin and Ghulam Nabi Khan.
According to the agency, Mohammad Shafi Shah was an active militant of Hizbul who collected funds from Pakistan and distributed them to members of the militant outfit in Jammu and Kashmir to carry out militant activities.
Talib Lali, the agency said, was a co-conspirator and used to collect funds from Shah and distribute them among militants in Kashmir Valley. He is also accused of motivating young people to join Hizbul. Muzaffar Ahmad Dar, the agency said, was Hizbul’s chief operation commander and hatched a conspiracy to conduct militant activities in India by raising funds.
Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, the NIA said, was in contact with Zaffar Hussain Bhatt, a Pakistan-based top leader of Hizbul who manages its finance. Lone received funds from Pakistan through hawala, human couriers etc and distributed them to Hizbul members and families of militants who were killed, the agency said in the release.
In another matter, the NIA conducted searches at seven locations in Kashmir’s Srinagar and Anantnag in connection with an ISIS conspiracy to radicalise and recruit young people for militant activities.
The NIA registered a case in the matter on June 21 under sections of IPC and the UAPA.
The probe agency said in a release, “In order to execute its nefarious plan, an organized campaign has been launched over the cyberspace which is supplemented by on-ground militant financing activities. ISIS militants operating from various conflict zones along with ISIS cadres in India, by assuming pseudo-online identities, have created a network wherein ISIS-related propaganda material is disseminated for radicalizing and recruiting members to the fold of ISIS.”
“In this connection, an India-Centric online propaganda magazine ‘the Voice of Hind’ (VOH) is published on monthly basis with an aim to incite and radicalize impressionable youth by projecting a skewed narrative of imagined injustices in India to arouse a feeling of alienation and communal hatred,” the release added.
The agency said the searches conducted today led to the recovery of “incriminating documents and digital devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptop, hard disks and T-Shirts having ISIS logo”. It said further probe into the matter is on.
