The Enforcement Directorate (ED) logo.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Srinagar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched a fresh crackdown on suspected narco-terror financing networks in Jammu and Kashmir, conducting raids at several locations, including the residence of former minister Jatinder Singh, alias Babu Singh.
Officials said searches were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at six premises in Srinagar and two in Jammu as part of an ongoing probe into alleged hawala transactions with terror links.
The investigation stems from a 2022 case in which one Mohammad Shareef Shah was arrested for allegedly carrying ₹6.9 lakh in hawala money from Kashmir to Jammu for Babu Singh. The State Investigation Agency (SIA) of J&K Police filed a chargesheet in September 2022 against Singh, Shah, and another accused, Muhammad Hussain Khateeb. Singh is currently out on bail.
According to the SIA, the money was meant to fund anti-national activities through Singh’s party, the Nature Mankind Friendly Global Party. The agency alleged that Singh had links with members of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen and the separatist Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
Investigators said the party’s “vision document” proposed the creation of an “independent entity” comprising Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan under joint India-Pakistan control over key sectors like finance and foreign affairs.
The SIA further alleged that Singh held online interactions with “adversarial elements” and, in one such session, compared JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat with Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev. In another address, he allegedly threatened the Government of India in reference to the abrogation of Article 370.
“Highly inflammatory and anti-national content recovered from Singh’s mobile phone indicates his intent to undermine the sovereignty of India,” the SIA said.
In 2024, two more accused—a police selection grade constable and a former sarpanch from Uri in Baramulla district—were arrested, taking the total number of those linked to the case to 17.
Officials said Thursday’s searches aim to trace the full financial trail, identify cross-border handlers, and dismantle the suspected narco-terror funding module.