look news india
Kashmir terror funding module busted: Security and investigation agencies have carried out a major joint operation to break the back of the terrorism financing network in Jammu and Kashmir. An organized terror funding module has been exposed in the valley, which was directly sending the money collected from the general public to the active terrorist organizations and their supporters in the name of so-called social work, charity and public welfare. Under a joint operation of the State Investigation Agency (SIA), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Jammu and Kashmir Police, 10 active accused have been arrested in this case from different districts of the valley. Initial investigation has revealed that the objective of this network was to keep the nursery of terrorism alive at the local level and instigate the youth for anti-national activities.
According to the investigating officers, this network was working in a very vicious manner. The accused used to go among the common people wearing the mask of social and religious institutions or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In the name of helping the poor, sick and orphans, huge amounts of donations were taken from the public through cash and digital means. Instead of reaching the needy, this amount raised by taking advantage of sensitive and emotional issues was being secretly diverted to provide logistics, arms and safe havens to active local overground workers (OGWs) and active terrorists at the behest of terrorist masters sitting across the border.
Following strong intelligence inputs received by the security agencies, simultaneous raids were conducted at several sensitive locations including Srinagar, Baramulla, Pulwama, Anantnag and Budgam. During the search operation, the investigation teams arrested 10 main conspirators. The arrested accused also include some suspects who were already part of the overground network and were experts in illegal transactions through digital wallets and hawala channels. The police have seized many objectionable documents, diaries containing accounts of transactions, several bank passbooks, checkbooks and a large quantity of digital devices from their possession.
The mobile phones, laptops, hard drives and pen drives recovered during the operation have been sent for forensic examination. Preliminary technical investigation has indicated that the accused were in direct contact with the handlers of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and other banned organizations sitting across the border through encrypted messaging apps. The investigating agencies have identified dozens of such bank accounts, in which huge sums of money were being deposited from unknown sources at regular intervals and later transferred to the terrorists through ATMs and cash withdrawals. The process of freezing all these suspicious accounts has been started with immediate effect.
The functioning of this module was not limited only to direct donations, but traditional hawala and accounts opened on fake documents (Mule Accounts) were also being used on a large scale. Fake receipts were issued to make the cash collected at the local level appear white. The investigating agencies are now probing whether some financial middlemen or local businessmen were also involved in this illegal network who deliberately helped in hiding the transactions. A case has been registered under the stringent provisions of the Money Laundering and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and further legal action is being taken.
The strategy of the security forces to restore peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir is no longer limited to killing terrorists in encounters, but focuses on destroying the entire financial and social ecosystem of terrorism. In recent years, strict action has been taken against terror funding, narco-terror and hawala networks in the valley. Police and intelligence agencies say that the disclosure of this module has dealt a deep blow to the economic lifeline provided to terrorists. Intensive interrogation of the arrested accused is going on and it is expected that in the coming days, arrest of some other big faces associated with this illegal syndicate is also possible.