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NIA unsatisfied, questions separatist leader Mirwaiz for 2nd day in terror funding case

The NIA on Monday questioned Farooq for nearly eight hours at its headquarters in Delhi after he appeared before the agency after avoiding two earlier summons.

NIA unsatisfied, questions separatist leader Mirwaiz for 2nd day in terror funding case

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq delivering the Friday sermon at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid. (Image: Twitter/@MirwaizKashmir)

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) questioned Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq for a second consecutive day on Tuesday in connection with a terror funding case, an official said.

As the investigators were not satisfied with the answers given by Farooq during his questioning on Monday, he was called on Tuesday to clarify on matters related to funding to his Awami Action Committee as well as the Hurriyat Conference, the official said.

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Farooq was asked about his connections with hawala operators and contacts abroad. Officials sought answers to the documents seized from his residence on February 26.

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According to informed sources, the NIA team asked him about details of his bank accounts, movable and immovable properties and his relatives residing in India and abroad and their businesses.

Farooq was accompanied by other separatist leaders, including Abdul Gani Bhat, Bilal Lone and Maulana Abbas Ansari.

The NIA on Monday questioned Farooq for nearly eight hours at its headquarters in Delhi after he appeared before the agency after avoiding two earlier summons.

Earlier, he had expressed his inability to depose before the NIA in Delhi because of fear of threat to his life.

The NIA on Tuesday also summoned Naseem Geelani, son of separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani.

The decision to appear before the NIA was taken by Mirwaiz on Sunday following an executive meeting of the Hurriyat group.

The NIA had registered the terror funding case after violence erupted in the Kashmir Valley in 2017.

The NIA had in February raided the residence of Mirwaiz and some other separatists and carried out searches. Thereafter, he was summoned to Delhi for further questioning. As the NIA searched their premises, supporters of separatists indulged in violence in the downtown areas.

The NIA had claimed to have recovered incriminating documents, including letterheads of various terrorist outfits during the raids. A high-end antenna and communication system was also recovered from a separatist’s house.

The NIA has already arrested nearly a dozen people, including seven separatists. The arrested persons include a son of Pakistan-based terror leader Syed Salahuddin and a top businessman of Kashmir. Two sons of Syed Ali Shah Geelani have also been questioned.

The anti-terror agency had on January 18, 2018, filed a chargesheet against 12 persons, including Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, in the case.

(With agency inputs)

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