Above:  Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin’s son has been arrested for terror funding. Photo: UNI

Barely a day after the government appointed an interlocutor in Kashmir, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Syed Shahid Yusuf, the son of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin. He has been arrested in a 2011 terror funding case. Yusuf works as a village agriculture assistant in the Jammu & Kashmir government.  According to NIA as reported by the news agencies, Yusuf was in contact of Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist based in Saudi Arabia. The NIA has revealed that Yusuf had received money from Bhat to carry out terror activities in the Valley, the news reports said.

The money is said to have been sent in four instalments between 2011 and 2014. The NIA had reopened its investigations in the matter despite the case being pending for trial in a city court. Four arrests have already been made in the case. Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, Mohammad Sidiq Ghanaian, Ghulam Jeelani Liloo and Farooq Ahmed Dagga are right now in Delhi’s Tihar jail whereas the other two—Mohammad Maqbool Pandit and Aijaz Ahmed Bhat are absconding.

Yusuf was arrested after he reached the NIA office regarding the summons sent to him by the agency. He was asked to appear for questioning. He was also questioned by NIA a few days ago.

Yusuf’s arrest comes right after a day of Dineshwar Sharma’s appointment as interlocutor and his arrest suggests that government although willing to talk to all the “stakeholders” to bring peace in the State, however, does not wish to ease its crackdown on separatist leaders. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), in July, had arrested seven separatist leaders in the terror funding case. Stepping up its investigation against them, the NIA, in September had searched 16 locations in Kashmir and Delhi.

—India Legal Bureau