ED attaches house of jailed separatist leader in Srinagar

The move is part of a money laundering probe linked to a case of fuelling terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached the house of jailed separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in Srinagar as part of a money laundering probe linked to a case of fuelling terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

Officials said the ED provisionally attached an immovable property situated at Botshah Colony in uptown Sanat Nagar area of Srinagar in the name of Shah under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The money laundering case against Shah stems from a case filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in May 2017 against Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and others under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

“During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Shabir Ahmad Shah was actively involved in the activities of fuelling unrest in Kashmir valley by way of stone pelting, processions, protests, bandhs, hartals and other subversive activities,” officials said.

They added that an investigation under PMLA revealed that Shah, who has been lodged in Delhi’s high-security Tihar prison since 2017, was involved in receiving funds from Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and other militant outfits based in Pakistan.

The officials said further investigation into the case was going on.