AGENCY
New Delhi: Kashmir hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s son-in-law, Altaf Ahmed Shah, was on Friday questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with its probe into the funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir.
Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, arrived at the NIA headquarters here this morning and was questioned by a team of officials about the alleged funding of the Geelani-led Tehrek-e-Hurriyat, offical sources said.
His Srinagar house was raided by NIA sleuths, who also searched the premises of others, such as Shahid-ul-Islam, a close aide of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and businessman Zahoor Watali.
The NIA had collected “some material” from Shah’s residence which was scrutinised by the sleuths before he was called for questioning here, the sources said, adding his examination would carry on for a few days before his statement was recorded.
Apart from being the son-in-law of Geelani, Shah is perceived to be influential in the policies of the Tehrek-e- Hurriyat. The NIA had conducted raids last Saturday and Sunday on the residences of separatists and businessmen in the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, Delhi and Haryana’s Sonepat and Gurgaon. Among those raided were separatists Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias ‘Bitta Karate’.
Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.
The raids were part of NIA’s efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the valley.
The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups including LeT and HM.
