NIA sleuths raided Advocate Mohammad Shafi Reshi residence at Posh Bagaat-Barzulla early Wednesday morning.
Widening its investigations in the terror funding case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted raids at 12 locations including the residence of prominent lawyer and close aide of Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani in Srinagar.
NIA sleuths raided Advocate Mohammad Shafi Reshi residence at Posh Bagaat-Barzulla early Wednesday morning.
Reshi, who is the uncle of People's Democratic Party (PDP) MLC Yasir Reshi, was among the 12 lawyers nominated by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association to examine the Constitutional validity of NIA Act 2008 and its application to J&K and suggest ways and means for providing necessary legal aid to all those who have been booked.
"The house belonging to Shafi Reshi and premises related to Zahoor Watali were searched by the NIA teams and a lot of incriminating material, suspect financial records and property-related documents and electronic devices including mobile phones, pen drives and hard drives have been seized during the searches. Some of the documents seized relate to receipt of money from suspect foreign sources and distribution of money so received to certain persons in Kashmir no valley," said an NIA officer.
Strongly condemning the raids on its Executive Member, Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association said Reshi is a pro-freedom activist, who has all along pleaded the cause of the people, both inside and outside the court. "It is only because of this reason that the NIA has raided his house to torture, humiliate and pressurize him and to force him to give up his support to the freedom struggle," said Bashir Sidiq, General Secretary of J&K High Court Bar Association.
NIA noted that the searches were conducted at 12 locations belonging to separatists and Hawala operators at Srinagar, Handwara, Kupwara and Pulwama in connection with the terror funding case. "Searches are still continuing and the suspects are being questioned about the incriminating recoveries made from them," it said.
The fresh raids have come three weeks after the NIA arrested seven separatists, including son-in-law of Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani and a top aide of moderate leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in the terror and stone-pelting funding cases.
Those arrested included Altaf Ahmed Shah alias Fantoosh, the son in law of Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Peer Saifullah, political secretary of Geelani, Ayaz Akbar, spokesman of Geelani led Hurriyat Conference, Raja Mehraj-ud-din Kalwal, Srinagar district president of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat led by Geelani and Shahid-ul-Islam, media secretary of Mirwaiz.
Others leaders arrested include National Front chairman and suspended provincial president of hard-line Hurriyat Nayeem Ahmad Khan and former militant commander and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (R) leader Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate.
The raids also come days after Geelani's two sons were summoned and questioned by the NIA in Delhi.
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