SIA conducts searches at five locations in south Kashmir

Srinagar, Dec 13: SIA Kashmir conducted searches at five locations in south Kashmir - three in Anantnag and two in Kulgam - in connection with an ongoing investigation of a terror funding case, officials said today.

The raids were conducted in a case FIR 311/2023 of police station Anantnag registered on 19 November 2023 under sections 13,17,18,20,38 and 40 of the UA(P)A 120B, 121A, 121 of the IPC and transferred to the SIA Kashmir on 23.12.2023, said a spokesman of the SIA, in a statement.

“It is pertinent to mention here that Zaffar Hussain Bhat @Khursheed @ Khursheed Kashmiri son of Sunnallah resident of Liver, Pahalgam, Sirgufwara, Ananatnag,  is a close associate of Ghulam Nabi Khan @ Amir Khan, Dy Chief of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM)  and both are notorious designated individual terrorists under the UAPA, declared Proclaimed Offenders and  having Red Notices of Interpol issued against them  in several terror funding cases of the NIA including the famous Jammu  Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust (JKART) case,” read the statement.

Khursheed Kashmiri is also wanted in Sanjay Sharma murder case of the SIA for his role in arranging and delivering the weapon of offence and also other arms and ammunition consignments at different locations in Jammu and Kashmir through his network of associates, it added.

“Hizb-ul-Mujahideen with active connivance of Mohd Yusuf Shah@ Syed Salahudeen, Chief of HM and the United Jihad Council and handlers of ‘Hizbul-Mujahideen’ (HM) and  ‘Lashkar-E-Taiba’ (LeT), proscribed terrorist organisations in India, have worked out a detailed terror-funding  plan of systematically and regularly financing of their active, arrested terrorists, families of killed terrorists and their associates, belonging to these proscribed terrorist organizations @ INR 15000 per member so as to sustain terrorism in the J&K.”

“Zaffar Hussain Bhat @Khursheed kashmiri with his associates spread across the Kashmir are raising, collecting, receiving, transporting, distributing and delivering the terror money to active and arrested terrorists of HM and their kith and kin to further terrorist, unlawful, subversive and secessionist  activities in Jammu and Kashmir and other places of India and also to disturb the communal harmony, spread disaffection towards India and challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country by waging war against India.”

As per the statement, Zaffar Hussain Bhat uses VoIP based encrypted messaging applications to communicate with his associates to plan, control and execute their movements and also to share the lists of the beneficiaries of these terror funds.

“During today’s searches some crucial digital and documentary evidence like cell Phones, Pen drives, SIM cards, data cards, bank documents, passports etc. relevant to the ongoing investigation were recovered and seized,” read the statement.

“On 19 November 2023, a close associate of Khursheed Kashmiri namely Majid Aziz Lawey s/o Abdul Aziz Laway r/o Liddermatto has already arrested with terror fund to the tune of INR 5 lakhs in this case.”