NIA raids in Pulwama, Srinagar in terror funding case

SRINAGAR: National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday raided the premises of two traders involved in cross Line of control (LoC) trade. The NIA sleuths carried out the raids in Pulwama and Srinagar districts.

Police sources said a joint team of NIA officers and Jammu and Kashmir police raided the house of trader Ghulam Ahmad Wani in Keller area of Pulwama district. Sources said Wani was involved in cross LoC trade before the government decided to suspend it on February 14, 2019 in the wake of terror attack on CRPF personnel in Pulwama.

According to NIA sources, another raid was carried out at Srinagar's Parimpora fruit Mandi. The raids are part of the ongoing investigation launched by NOA against suspected terror funding. Well-known Kashmiri businessman, Zahoor Watali and several separatist leaders have already been arrested by NIA so far in connection with this case.

Watali was arrested in 2017 by the NIA on the charges of receiving funds from Pakistan to sponsor terror activities and stone-pelting in Kashmir. He is believed to be a close aide of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The probe by NIA had revealed that Watali had assets worth crores. As per NIA, Watali owns several properties in Britain and Dubai.

The NIA has already arrested some key separatist leaders, including Shabbir Shah, Asiya Andrabi and Masarat Alam, in connection with terror funding case. All these separatists are currently lodged in Delhi Tihar jail.

In June, NIA had claimed that Dukhtaran-e-Millathad chief Asiya Andrabi and Masarat Alam had confessed during interrogation that they had been collecting funds and donations from foreign sources to organise protests in Jammu and Kashmir.