NIA continues raids on close aide of Hurriyat hawk Geelani

Behl hails from Nowshera in the Rajouri district. He settled in Jammu some two decades ago.

A team of the National Investigation Agency continued its raids on a lawyer alleged to be closely associated with Hurriyat hawk, Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The ancestral home of Devinder Singh Behl at Nowshera was raided by the NIA.

On Sunday, Behl's residence in Jammu was raided by the NIA in connection with the Hurriyat terror funding case.

The NIA says that it was found that Behl was a courier for the money sent from Pakistan to the Hurriyat to organise stone pelting in the Valley. Devinder Singh Behl is a member of the legal cell of the Hurriyat. He is a close associate of a top Hurriyat leader and regularly attends funerals of militants. The NIA is investigating into his role as courier as he is suspected to be involved in routing funds to the separatist leaders from Pakistan-based handlers," an NIA statement said.

Learnt to be close to Geelani, Behl has reportedly also hosted separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Shabir Shah at his Jammu residence in the past.

While being whisked away by NIA officials from his residence, Behl told mediapersons, "We do not want violence, but peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue''.

Behl hails from Nowshera in the Rajouri district. He settled in Jammu some two decades ago. He is married and is a father to two daughters. In 2013, he visited Pakistan, where he was arrested for trying to go to Mirpur without permission.

Besides sharing dais with separatist leaders on several occasions, he often makes posts on the social media, accusing security forces of committing human rights violation in the Valley. After the death of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in an encounter, Behl had put up posts supporting the separatists' demand for "Azadi''.

OneIndia News