NIA raids 14 places in Kashmir, 8 in Delhi over Pak terror funding

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today carried out searches at 14 places in Kashmir and eight places in the national capital in connection with terror funding received from Pakistan for carrying out subversive activities in the Valley.

Sources said the raids were targeted at alleged hawala operations between Pak-based terror groups and Kashmiri separatists. The NIA also raided separatist leaders' house, office and commercial locations.

The NIA is also reported to have so far recovered Rs1 crore in the raids.

NIA, which earlier scrutinised five bank accounts allegedly linked to Syed Ali Shah Geelani, as part of its probe into suspected terror funding, also registered a case against the hardline separatist leader.

The NIA also converted a preliminary enquiry it had registered earlier against Geelani, has now converted it into a regular case.

The agency, which started raids last evening, today began searches in the wee hours at the residences of second-rung separatist leaders in the Valley. Among those raided were close aides and kins of hardliner Geelani and others in the Hurriyat Conference.

Around eight hawala dealers and traders in the national capital were also raided, official sources said.

NIA teams also searched places in Sonepat in this connection.

The raids follow revelations by three arrested separatists Nayeem Khan - who was seen on television during a sting operation purportedly confessing to receiving money from Pakistan-based terror groups - Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate' and Gazi Javed Baba of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, in the national capital last month.

Searches were also conducted at residence of some separatist leaders and their relatives, also at houses of Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar, who were recently questioned by NIA in Delhi.

The separatists allegedly were receiving funds from the chief of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hafiz Saeed, to carry out subversive activities in the Kashmir Valley, including pelting of stones at security forces, damaging public property and burning schools and other government establishments.

Last week, the NIA had questioned three Kashmiri separatists,  Farooq Ahmad Dar alias 'Bitta Karate', Nayeem Khan and Javed Ahmed Baba alias 'Gazi' of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, in connection with a case related to the funding of terror and subversive activities in Jammu and Kashmir. The accused were asked to produce certain documents for examination.

The NIA probe was triggered by a sting operation, aired on the India Today news channel, in which Khan was allegedly seen confessing to receiving money from Pakistan-based terror groups through hawala channels for funding violent activities, including torching of schools and stone throwing.

Following the sting, Khan was suspended from the Syed Ali Shah Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference.

However, Nayeem Khan denied the allegations of receiving funds from Pakistan, claiming the sting operation was "fake and doctored"