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NIA summons grandson of top separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to New Delhi

The development came after the NIA questioned top separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in cases of alleged terror funding in Kashmir.

Statesman News Service | Jammu | April 24, 2019 6:17 pm

NIA summons grandson of top separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to New Delhi

(File photo: IANS)

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has summoned Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s grandson, Anees-ul-Islam Shah, at the agency’s headquarters at New Delhi on 29 April.

The development came after the NIA questioned top separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in cases of alleged terror funding in Kashmir.

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In a statement, Geelani said that the Government of India has “waged war against Kashmiris on every front”.

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Geelani’s two sons have already been questioned by the NIA. Anees is son of incarcerated Hurriyat leader Altaf Shah (Fantosh).

Anees’s father was arrested in 2017 by NIA along with other Hurriyat leaders.

Anees came into limelight in 2016 when the Mehbooba Mufti led PDP-BJP coalition “bent” rules to recruit him in a government job in the tourism department at a hefty salary.

The state government had denied that rules were bent to recruit him on the post of research officer in the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Complex (SKICC), a subsidiary of the state tourism department.

The NIA had recently accelerated investigation of the terror funding cases. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was earlier this month questioned for three days in New Delhi.

Another separatist, Yasin Malik, is in the custody of NIA in the national capital. Geelani and other separatists were demanding his transfer to Srinagar on health grounds.

Malik was on Wednesday sent to judicial custody till 24 May.

Another separatist, Shabir Shah, is in custody at New Delhi where the Enforcement Directorate was investigating cases of “hawala” money transfer.

Mehbooba Mufti had also opposed interrogation of separatists.

The Centre had last week suspended the cross-LoC trade with the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) through two points in the state as the Confidence Building Measure (CBM) initiated in 2008 was found to have been captured by Pakistan-based terror organisations to fund terrorists and anti-India elements operating in Kashmir.

There were reports that money for stone-pelters was also coming through trade routes.

The authorities have from time to time seized huge consignments of narcotics, arms and ammunition besides fake Indian currency from trucks coming from across the LoC.

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The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010. A division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice P V Balakrishnan suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail to him after considering his appeal against the NIA court’s conviction in the case Considering the prolonged detention and citing the potential for trial delays, the court suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail, taking into account that some co-accused with similar allegations had already been released after serving shorter terms. The court noted that he had already spent nine years in jail and that delays in resolving appeals could justify suspending a convict’s prison term. It also observed that other accused in the case had received lesser sentences and had already been released after serving their terms. “The applicant has been undergoing incarceration, at the pre-conviction and post-conviction phases, for over 9 years. Furthermore, the fact that the accused facing the same allegations were earlier imposed a lesser term of imprisonment and have been released after having undergone the sentence is a factor that cannot be ignored. Additionally, the appeals filed by the NIA against the findings of the learned Sessions Judge are being considered in separate appeals, which have not yet been taken up. “There is also the likelihood of delay, as the prime accused has surrendered, and the learned Sessions Judge may have to take up the trial and dispose of it in accordance with the law and some of the original records may be required for that purpose. In view of these facts and circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that the sentence imposed on the applicant can be suspended pending the consideration of the appeal.” The court said The court, however, imposed strict conditions for Nasar’s bail. He is not supposed to provide a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties, refrain from leaving the country without the court’s permission, avoid interfering with the trial or witnesses, and not commit similar offences while on bail The gruesome incident dates back to July 4, 2010, when Joseph, a professor at Newman College, Thodupuzha, was returning from Sunday mass with his family, members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) attacked him, allegedly in retaliation for a question paper he set, which contained a passage that they claimed insulted Prophet Mohammed was derogatory. His right hand was chopped off in this attack. Nasar was accused of playing a critical role in the attack. Investigations revealed his involvement in recruiting gang members, assigning specific tasks, collecting funds, procuring communication devices, and maintaining communication links with key conspirators.

The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010.