Jammu & Kashmir Police team (CRT) personnel. (Representative image)
Credit: PTI File Photo
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir police conducted a series of raids across Srinagar and Sopore on Wednesday, targeting several locations, including the homes of top separatist leaders Abdul Gani Bhat and Shabir Ahmad Shah.
The raids were part of ongoing investigations into cases filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a key piece of legislation used to combat terrorism and secessionist activities in the Union Territory (UT).
The searches were carried out after securing warrants from the Special Judge designated under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act in Srinagar, a police spokesperson said. All operations were conducted in strict adherence to legal protocols, with an Executive Magistrate and independent witnesses present during the raids.
The cases pertain to banned organizations, including Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (Bhat Group), Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League (Masrat Alam Group), and Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (Shabir Shah Group), he said.
The searches were carried out in connection with suspected members of these proscribed organizations and in furtherance of investigations in FIR No. 15/2024 under Sections 10, 13 of the UAPA and Sections 121, 121A of the IPC at Police Station Rajbagh, Srinagar; FIR No. 04/2024 under Sections 10, 13 of the UAPA at Police Station Saddar; and FIR No. 03/2024 under Sections 10, 13 of the UAPA at Police Station Shaheed Gunj
The raids were conducted at the residences of Abdul Gani Bhat in Bhat Mohalla, Botingoo, Sopore, and simultaneously at his Srinagar residence in Wazir Bagh. A search was also carried out at the residence of Shabir Ahmad Shah in connection with FIR No. 04/2024.
In connection with FIR No. 03/2024, searches were conducted at seven locations across Srinagar, targeting individuals suspected of involvement in unlawful activities:
“The investigation aims to dismantle the remnants of the secessionist and terrorist ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir by identifying and taking legal action against individuals engaged in such activities,” the police said.
Masarat Alam is the chairman of a faction of the Jammu Kashmir Muslim League, which has been deemed unlawful under the UAPA. Accused of playing a key role in organising violent protests in Kashmir in 2010 that resulted in the deaths of over 100 youth, he is incarcerated in Tihar Jail
Shabir Shah is in Tihar Jail since 2017 in an alleged terror funding case.