NIA objects to PDP leader Waheed Para's plea for travel to Delhi

Srinagar, Jan 17: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has objected to an application by PDP leader Waheed ur Rehman Para, seeking travel permission to New Delhi. Para, currently out on bail after his arrest in a terror case, wishes to visit his ailing nephew at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Having been barred from leaving Jammu and Kashmir without permission under his bail conditions, Waheed Para sought the nod of an NIA court for this travel request. His father, Ghulam Ahmad Para, is undergoing cancer treatment at the Tata Institute in Mumbai, while his seven-year-old nephew is battling a "life-threatening" disease at AIIMS.

In response to the application, the NIA filed an objection before the court, asserting that the petition is not maintainable and should be dismissed. The agency expressed concerns about Waheed Para potentially fleeing from the law, stating, "There is strong apprehension that the applicant/accused would misuse the liberty and may not come back to face the proceedings in relation to the charge sheet that has already been filed," reported Indian Express.

Waheed, also the president of PDP's youth wing, submitted his nephew's medical records with the application. Still, the NIA stated that it couldn't verify them quickly and argued that the well-being of the nephew could be addressed by his immediate family.

The NIA expressed concern over what it sees as a "calculated strategy to evade justice," citing Waheed Para's repeated applications to travel outside Jammu and Kashmir. Over the past two years, he has made several appeals to travel to Mumbai to accompany his ailing father, being permitted once for a week.

Waheed Para has also reached out to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and J&K's Director General of Police R R Swain, seeking their intervention to provide "some respite to my kin."