The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) against some separatist leaders, for allegedly receiving funds from Pakistan and also Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed to ‘create’ unrest in the Valley, had decided to tread cautiously as far as questioning of the senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was concerned, The Hindu reported on Monday, quoting highly placed sources.
“There is no hurry to question Geelani. We are still not done with questioning others. Procedures would be followed,” an NIA official was quoted by the newspaper as having said. The report added that agency’s concerns also arise from its experience last year, when a similar PE against Geelani, to probe his links to two bank accounts, through which money was routed to allegedly create unrest in the Valley, drew a blank.
The NIA is yet to find any hard evidence against Geelani in the said case. His son-in-law, Naeem Geelani, was sent summons but he refused to appear before the NIA officials last year.
According to the report, a senior Home Ministry official said questioning Geelani would not be easy and the NIA would require “irrefutable evidence” before it landed at the Hurriyat leader’s residence.
The NIA said that it would be scouring over 150 cases of rioting and pelting of stones registered in the Kashmir Valley post Burhan Wani’s killing in an encounter with security forces on July 8, 2016 to find possible links to separatist leaders.
Describing the 2016 PE against Geelani, an NIA official said: “There were two bank accounts related to Geelani, which are under the scanner. Lots of funds have been disbursed through it. We are finding out the source of funds. The pattern is suspicious. We are taking the help of financial analysts and bank officials in that case.”
The NIA questioned three Hurriyat leaders, Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmed Dar alias ‘Bitta Karate’ and Gazi Javed Baba of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, for the second day.
Khan, the National Front chief, was suspended from the Geelani led Huriyat Conference on Saturday following sting operation in which he was seen admitting that the separatists in Kashmir received money from Pakistan and Hafiz Syed for “fomenting trouble” in Kashmir.