Asiya Andrabi’s residence in Srinagar attached by NIA in alleged terror funding case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday attached Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi’s house in Srinagar under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The order issued by Vikas Katheria, chief investigating officer, NIA, said the property was attached after approval granted by the DGP, Jammu and Kashmir.

"NIA has reason to believe that property specified in the schedule noted hereunder represents proceeds of terrorism and has been used for the furtherance of terrorist activities of a proscribed terrorist organisation," the NIA notice reads.

"Therefore, in the exercise of the powers granted under Section 25 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, I hereby order the attachment of the property specified in the Schedule hereunder as proceeds of terrorism. It is further directed to all concerned not to the prior permission of the undersigned," it added.

The NIA has alleged that its probe into terror financing in Jammu and Kashmir has revealed that hardline separatist leaders received funds from abroad and utilised them for personal gains -- from amassing properties to paying for foreign education of their kin. 

The agency has interrogated several top leaders of Hurriyat Conference and other organisations and claimed that they had confessed to receiving funds from Pakistan to fuel separatist sentiments among the people of Kashmir Valley.

Earlier, in a statement NIA alleged that Asiya Andrabi admitted that she had been collecting funds and donations from foreign sources and Duktaran-e-Milat had been organising protests by Muslim women in the valley.

The NIA has already approached the relevant authorities for providing evidence relating to certain bank accounts used by Asiya Andrabi's son Mohammad bin Qasim while he was in the university, it said.