Agency
New Delhi: The National Investigating Agency (NIA) on Wednesday opposed before a Delhi court the bail application of an alleged stone pelter, arrested from Kashmir Valley in a terror case, citing his “anti-national” activities.
The agency, probing funding of terror and separatist activities in the valley, told District Judge Poonam A Bamba that 24-year-old Javed Ahmed Bhat was involved in anti- national activities and took active participation in stone pelting on security forces.
The agency said there were serious apprehension about Bhat fleeing from justice as well as the country and that he could tamper with evidences if released on bail.
It further added that the investigation into the case was still on and the accused remained non-cooperative during the probe.
Bhat had moved the bail application through advocate M S Khan, claiming that he was wrongly implicated in the case.
The NIA arrested Bhat on September 5 for his alleged involvement in stone pelting and organising groups of youths who would throw stones at the security personnel involved in counter-insurgency operations.
In his application, Bhat claimed that he neither indulged in any anti-national activity nor was he associated with any organisation or participated in stone pelting.
The NIA arrested Bhat, a Kulgam resident, and a freelance photo-journalist for their alleged involvement in stone pelting and mobilising support against security personnel through social media in the valley.
The arrests were made after filing a case earlier on May 30 in which the leader of the Pakistan-based Jamaat-ud-Dawa and banned terrorist outfit Lashkar-e Taiba, Hafiz Saeed, was named as an accused.
Bhat was also involved in circulating on social networking sites pictures and videos that sparked widespread rumours in the valley, the NIA alleged.
The NIA had earlier arrested seven people in the case of alleged funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir Valley to fuel unrest there.
The case was registered on issues of raising, receiving and collecting funds through various illegal means, including hawala channels, for funding such activities.
