The State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir conducted searches at multiple locations in five districts of the valley on Saturday in a terror funding case and seized Rs 29 lakh in cash, officials said.
“Continuing to rein in the networks of terror outfits with a purpose of destroying its ecosystems completely, the SIA conducted searches at multiple locations across Kashmir Valley,” one of the officials said.
They said the houses and premises of suspects in Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora, Srinagar and Budgam districts were searched in compliance to search warrant obtained from the court of special judge, designated under NIA Act (TADA/POTA) Srinagar in connection with investigation of cases under the UA(P) Act, and IPC registered at Police Station SIA Kashmir.
The case pertains to members of the proscribed terrorist organisation Al-Badr based in Pakistan who with active support and connivance of Pakistani agencies, hostile to India, under a well-knit criminal conspiracy with some identified person(s) and overground workers (OGWs) of proscribed terrorist organisation(s) in the valley are raising funds for furtherance of terrorist activities in J-K, the officials said.
The money so raised is passed on/transferred through financial markets or through unregulated channels/through cash couriers, they added.
In furtherance to this nexus, the network has successfully engaged many people of varied backgrounds either with or without their knowledge to act as cash courier, the officials said.
They said as a part of this conspiracy, terror funding module has created many sleeper cells/OGW(s) in different parts of Kashmir Valley who are facilitating passing on money to various terrorist organisation(s) in J-K through banks/unregulated channels/ cash couriers.
During the searches, Rs 29 lakh in cash was recovered and seized along with passbooks, cheque books and digital devices such as mobile phones and other articles having bearing on the investigation, they said.
Analysis of the data would follow and leads that would emerge would become the basis for further investigation, they added.
The searches are aimed at dismantling the terror ecosystem in the valley by identifying overground workers supporting and abetting terrorism, the officials said.
