Srinagar: National Investigative Agency (NIA) on Saturday raided houses of over dozen resistance leaders and businessmen in Srinagar in connection with alleged hawala funding from abroad.
Sources told news agency GNS that the NIA sleuths who are camping in Srinagar from past several days after launching Preliminary Enquiry (PE) into alleged hawala funding to resistance leaders to fuel protests and violence in Kashmir. The PE was launched following a ‘sting operation’ by a New-Delhi based news channel. According to top sources, the NIA teams raided the residential houses of six resistance leaders and seven businessmen.
Sources revealed to GNS that the NIA raided houses of Hurriyat Conference (G) leader, Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Altaf Funtoosh at Qamarvari, Salvation Movement chairman Zaffar Akbar Bhat at Bagh-e-Mehtab, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) senior leader Noor Muhammad Kalwal at Nowgam, National Front (NF) chairman Nayeem Khan at Ibrahim Colony Natipora, JKLF (R) leader Farooq Dar alias Bitta Karatay at Guru Bazar Shaheed Gunj and Hurriyat (M) Media Advisor Shahid-ul-Islam at Sanatnagar.
The businessmen whose houses were raided include Zahoor Ahmad Watali at Barzullah, Raja Zahoor Khan at Hyderpora, Muhammad Sultan Tangnuu at Azad Basti Natipora, Nazir Ahmad Mir alias Nazir Gais at Shamsabad Batamaloo, Farooq Ahmad Wani at Shamsabad Batamaloo, Muhammad Sultan Chandu at Natipora and Retired Dr Bashir Ahmad Bhat at Sheikhul Aalam Colony Nowgam.
According to sources, the teams of the NIA started raids since morning hours and continued the searches throughout the day. These sources revealed that some documents and a large amount of cash were seized from the house of Zahoor Watali. The sources said that the searches were also carried out at the dry fruit shop of Muhammad Sultan Chandu at Koker Bazar in Lal Chowk.
Meanwhile, according to reports, the raids were carried out in Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Rohini and Greater Kailash II areas of Delhi, and at a cold storage in Haryana’s Sonepat.
These reports further said that the preliminary enquiry has been converted into an FIR against Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and other Pakistan-based militant agencies. The FIR, which does not name any of the separatist leaders, has been registered under legal provisions dealing with waging war or attempting to wage war against India, criminal conspiracy, and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the reports added. (GNS)
