NIA Raids Continue: 6 NGOs, Trusts Across Delhi, Srinagar Searched

The residence of the ex-Delhi Minorities Commission chief, Zafarul-Islam Khan, was among the places that was raided.

Image used for representation.

(Photo: Lijumol Joseph/ The Quint)

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday, 29 October, conducted raids on six NGOs and trusts across nine locations in Delhi and Srinagar, in connection with a terror funding case, a day after raids on the premises of the Greater Kashmir newspaper, and other entities and individuals.

The six NGOs and trusts that were being raided on Thursday included the Falah-e-Aam Trust, Charity Alliance, Human Welfare Foundation, JK Yateem Foundation, Salvation Movement and J&K Voice of Victims (JKVoV), news agency ANI reported.

The residence of the former Delhi Minorities Commission chairperson, Zafarul-Islam Khan, was among the places that was raided on Thursday. Khan is also the chairperson of the Charity Alliance NGO.

According to NDTV, while Charity Alliance and Human Welfare Foundation are based in Delhi, the other NGOs and trusts are from Srinagar.

What Happened on Wednesday?

On Wednesday, the NIA had raided multiple locations, including the premises of Greater Kashmir .

According to an Indian Express report, these raids were based on “credible information that certain NGOs and Trusts are collecting funds domestically and abroad through so-called donation and business contributions, etc, and are then utilising these funds for secessionist and terrorist activities in J&K”.

The searches also included the residence and office of Khurram Parvez (co-ordinator of J&K Coalition of Civil Society), his associates Parvez Ahmad Bukhari, Parvez Ahmad Matta and Bengaluru-based associate Swati Sheshadri. Parveena Ahanger, Chairperson of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDPK), and offices of NGO Athrout and GK Trust were also raided.

The agency had claimed that “several incriminating documents and electronic devices have been seized,” reported The Indian Express.

Kashmir Editors’ Guild Condemns Raids

Kashmir Editors’ Guild (KEG) on Wednesday condemned the raids conducted by the NIA in multiple locations in Srinagar.

A statement issued by KEG said: “Kashmir media continues to get targeted, demonised, vilified and raided by both the state and non-state actors for a long time now.”

“Kashmir media has proven record of being a professional institution that maintained textbook objectivity while maintaining its core journalistic values. This is despite the adversity of an extraordinary situation and the mounting challenges day in and day out.”

The statement by the Kashmir Editors’ Guild

The guild also expressed concern over the “mounting cost” of being a journalist in Kashmir. The Guild stated that it hopes that Kashmir media is permitted to function without “hassles and hurdles”.

(With inputs from the Indian Express, ANI and NDTV)