SIA raids in slush funds case: Target is the pied piper of Jammu and Kashmir

To break the backs of terrorists it was important for the agencies to put a brake on their fund flow. Multiple agencies have worked towards this.

The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) conducted search operations at eight different places to probe the recipients of slush funds.

The SIA is investigating the funds that have been flowing through a known secessionist Maulvi Sajjan Barkati of south Kashmir.

Over Rs 1.5 crore in funds had been raised through crowdfunding and fro suspected terror sources utilised for personal benefits, profiteering and furtherance of the secessionist-terrorist campaigns, officials said.

"Sarjan Barkati is known for mobilising thousands on to the streets during the 2016 violent agitation through his incendiary oratory, government officials said.

"Known as the pied piper, Sarjan Barkati used to openly invite and incite youth to take to violence and pull down the Indian state in Jammu and Kashmir, officials also said.

In 2016, Barkati became notorious for mobilising thousands of people on to the streets for a violent agitation through his incendiary oratory. He is accused of openly inviting and inciting youth to take to violent and pull down the state.

He also made a huge amount of money by making emotional appeals to the public to support them for their day-today needs. Barkati not just mobilised funds, but also laundered it for further use in sustaining the secessionist terrorist campaigns, the officials said.

The SIA has zeroed in on 10 suspects in connection with this case. The SIA is reported to seize incriminating material such as electronic evidence and other documents.

Barkati is said to have siphoned off funds and used it for his personal use. He also purchased land worth Rs 45 lakh in Anantnag in the name of his wife. He subsequently sold the land for Rs 72 lakh thereby making a profit of Rs 27 lakh. He also built a palatial house using public money.

Terror funding has been a major issue in Jammu and Kashmir. Officials have maintained that breaking the back of terrorists and separatists in the Valley could be done by freezing their fund flow.

Both the NIA and the ED have been relentless on curbing the funds of terrorists. The arrest of top businessmen in the terror funding case, paid dividends for the agencies as a result of which separatism in Kashmir has gone down ten-fold.

Encounter:

In another development an encounter broke out in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama.

The Kashmir police said, "encounter has started at the Mitrigam area of Pulwama. Police and security forces are on the job.