After the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at his residence and offices in Delhi on Thursday morning, former Delhi Minorities Commission chairman and Milli Gazette founding editor Zafarul Islam Khan said that the Agency is linking him and his NGO, Charity Alliance, with “Kashmir terror” although he has no such relations or contacts.
To support his innocence, Khan, who is also the former president of All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, said that he has not visited Kashmir for many years now and the raids seem to be an attempt to implicate him in some terror or riot case.
“My home and offices were raided by NIA this morning from 7 AM to 11 AM. They took many papers, all laptops, hard disks of all desktops, cash found etc. They showed me an order on their mobile, issued by one Yadav of NIA, to conduct the raid linking me and my NGO with Kashmir terror although I have no relationship or even contacts with Kashmiri militants and have not even visited Kashmir for many years,” Khan said in a tweet.
“It seems an attempt to implicate me in some terror or riot case,” he added.
“Thrown to [the] stone age. No laptop, no mobile, no desktop. NIA people said [the] order for raid came from the very top and they were woken up at 4 am for this great task of raiding a journalist. They had no patience. They jumped the wall to enter my house like they did with Chidambaram,” he said in another tweet.
Pertinently, at least six NGOs/Trusts were raided by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday morning.
In Srinagar, the four NGOs raided by the NIA are Falah-e-Aam Trust, JK Yateem Foundation, Salvation Movement and J&K Voice of Victims.
Two Delhi-based NGOs — Khan’s Charity Alliance and Human Welfare Foundation — were also raided.
Today’s raids are in continuation of the raids conducted by the Agency at ten different locations in Srinagar and Bandipora and one location in Bengaluru on Wednesday morning.
Earlier, NIA carried out raids at human rights activist and J&K Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) coordinator Khurram Parvez’s Sonwar residence, Athrout NGO office at Nawakadal, Greater Kashmir office in Press Enclave, its former executive editor Zahiruddin’s Magarmal Bagh residence, senior journalist Parvaiz Bukhari’s residence at Naaz Colony Pantha Chowk and HB Hilton houseboat at Nehru Park.
A building in Hyderpora Srinagar was also raided. The building is owned by one Ghulam Qadir Malik and used by Association of Parents for Disappeared Persons (APDP) on rent basis.
Raids were also conducted at APDP founding member Parveena Ahanger’s residence and one Parvez Ahmad Matta’s residence.
In north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, a Hurriyat activist’s residence was raided. Source identified him as Muhammad Yousf Sofi alias Salman, son of Abdul Rashid Sofi, a resident of Brar village.
In Bengaluru, one Swati Sheshadri’s residence was also raised. She is said to be an associate of Khurram Parvez.
The raids are being conducted as part of a new case registered by NIA related to certain NGOs allegedly raising funds for ‘secessionist and militant activities’.
The case was registered by NIA on October 8 this year.
