Srinagar, May 25 (IANS) Sleuths of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday carried out raids at multiple places across Kashmir in connection with the ongoing terror-related investigation.

Official sources said the NIA carried out raids simultaneously in several areas of Srinagar and other districts of the Valley as part of a crackdown on terror networks, overground workers (OGWs) and suspected terror-funding activities.

“NIA raids are underway at the banned Jamaat-e-Islami-linked Siraj-ul-Uloom in the Imam Sahib area of Shopian, as well as in Srinagar,” sources said.

They said NIA teams, assisted by the J&K Police and paramilitary forces, were searching residential premises linked to suspected individuals.

The searches included residential premises, the Lal Nazar area of Srinagar, and the Imam Sahib area of Shopian. Teams of NIA sleuths assisted by the J&K Police and CRPF targeted the JeI-linked Siraj-ul-Uloom institution and the residence of Shahzada Aurangzeb, former chief of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI).

The ongoing operations aim to dismantle covert terror networks, choke financial pipelines, and crack down on anti-India conspiracies in the region.

The NIA searches in Kashmir are primarily linked to the ongoing investigations into Pakistan-backed terror conspiracies, cross-border terror funding, targeted killings of civilians/non-locals, and cross-LoC trade misuse.

The primary cases investigated by the NIA are related to probes into non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and trusts funnelling funds into Kashmir for subversive and secessionist activities.

The action is against the banned socio-political group Jamaat-e-Islami (J&K) for collecting funds, which it uses for unlawful and secessionist activities; targeting offshoots like The Resistance Front (TRF) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for radicalising local youth and orchestrating violent attacks; dismantling sleeper cells, Overground Workers (OGWs), and hybrid terrorists plotting attacks with smuggled IEDs are also part of the crackdown.

The ongoing crackdown on recently banned religious seminaries and leadership associates (such as the ex-Jamaat chief) in the Shopian district is to neutralise support networks.

–IANS

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