‘Volunteers to speak out’
State Times News
JAMMU: Separatist hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s lawyer Divender Singh Behl on Wednesday presented himself at the NIA headquarters in New Delhi and recorded his statement, dwelling upon modus of collecting and routing money to separatists and terror supporters.
“During 2014 Kashmir flood, I sold over 20 truckloads of eatables and other items that were donated for Kashmiris by various Gurdwaras of Punjab as relief. The money collected after sale of relief material was also given to separatists in Kashmir,” Behl is reported to have stated in his statement to NIA.
He has named his associates who helped him in raising funds for separatists, sources informed. Details of his frequent visits to Pakistan and its High Commission in New Delhi are being probed. Behl’s two bank accounts have been seized. Each entry will be scrutinized to completely smash the terror module being run on the name of Azadi-an euphoric slogan to lure and indoctrinate the local youth.
Soon after his detention by NIA on Sunday after raid at his residence, Behl was released and asked to be present in NIA’s Jammu office in the morning. After Behl signed 6-page statement in Jammu, Behl was handed over a summon for NIA headquarter, New Delhi, where he reported at 11:00 AM morning. Sources informed that Behl has agreed to provide all vital information related to terror funding. Within days more arrests are likely to be made from Jammu, Kashmir and Punjab.
At Nowshera, Divender’s mother told NIA team that she was giving Rs 20,000 per month to him for paying school fee and other expenses of his children residing in Jammu.
NIA is gathering all evidences before formally arresting Behl. Already six accused have been arrested by NIA in connection with the probe into terror funding.
On July 25, the NIA had arrested seven key Kashmiri separatists on charges of receiving funds from Pakistan to sponsor terror activities and stone-pelting protests in the Kashmir Valley.
Nayeem Khan, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Aftab Hilali Shah alias Shahid-ul-Islam, Ayaz Akbar Khandey, Peer Saifullah and Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal were arrested from Srinagar while Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate was arrested from Delhi.
Altaf is the son-in-law of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who advocates Jammu and Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan, while Islam is a close aide of moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Akbar is the spokesperson for the Geelani-led Hurriyat.
The NIA had questioned these arrested persons for nearly two weeks before their formal arrest.
The arrested persons have been booked on charges of criminal conspiracy and abetting waging war against the Indian State.
The official refused to divulge details about the new evidences collected by the NIA but confirmed that more people could be arrested as the agency collects more proof.
Investigators said the funds were received by separatists through illegal means, including hawala channels, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and for causing disruption in Kashmir through street protests, burning of schools, damaging public properties and waging war against India.
In pursuance of the FIR, the NIA in June conducted raids in Srinagar, Jammu, Delhi and Haryana and seized “incriminating” evidence against those involved in receiving funds, acting as intermediaries, and final beneficiaries of funds coming from Pakistan.
The NIA FIR names Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawah, the front of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as an accused, besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference, Hizbul Mujahideen, and Dukhtaran-e-Millat.
During the raids, the NIA had seized unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore, and letterheads of banned terrorist groups, including the LeT and Hizbul.
The NIA had seized property-related documents, pen drives, laptops, mobile phones, phone diaries, receipts and vouchers showing hawala payments during Srinagar raids.
Four mobiles, a tablet, Hurriyat Conference letter pads, his photographs with hurriyat leaders, were recovered from Behl’s Jammu residence on Sunday.
Sources divulged that once arrested by NIA, there is no provision for bail and all the accused have to face punishment under law after through process of judicial dispensation.
