NIA summoned Geelani's younger son for questioning in terror funding case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has summoned hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's second son Naseem Geelani for questioning in the terror funding case.

This comes days after the agency summoned Naeem Geelani, who has issued a summons to appear before the NIA in Delhi was admitted to the ICU at SKIMS hospital in Srinagar after complaining of severe chest pain.

Sources said Naseem has also been summoned to Delhi in connection with the investigations on the funding of stone pelters.

The NIA has arrested seven persons, including Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Ahmed Shah, in connection with the case and is in NIA custody. The arrests came after scrutiny of mobile and internet activities of around 50 Kashmiri youth, who were repeatedly spotted at stone-pelting protests.

The middle-level Hurriyat leaders operated through these local leaders to reach the youths, who were given funds to organise stone-pelting protests after suspected Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani's encounter killing in July last year.

Sources said the investigators have also stumbled upon a protest calendar authorised by the senior Geelani and it suggested that the protests that happened after the encounter killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani were coordinated with the instructions from handlers in Pakistan.

The protest calendar recovered from Shah showed the systematic way in which the violent protests were organised, sources claimed.
 The NIA had registered a case on May 30 against the separatist and secessionist leaders, including members of the Hurriyat Conference, who have been acting in connivance with active militants of proscribed terrorist organisations HM, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and other outfits and gangs.