SRINAGAR: A special court on Tuesday framed charges against a prominent Hurriyat leader and seven others for selling Pakistani MBBS seats in Jammu and Kashmir to fund terror activities.
Special judge NIA court, Srinagar, Manjeet Singh Manhas, framed the charges against Hurriyat leader and chairman of Salvation Movement, Mohammad Akbar Bhat alias โZaffar Akbar Bhatโ and seven others for committing offences under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Besides Akbar Bhat, others accused in the case are Fatima Shah, Altaf Ahmad Bhat (at present in Pakistan), Qazi Yasir (absconding), Mohammad Abdullah Shah, Sabzar Ahmad Sheikh, Manzoor Ahmad Shah (at present in Pakistan) and Mohammad Iqbal Mir, who was released on bail because he was suffering from a terminal disease, officials said.
โDuring the investigation, searches in the houses of accused persons and at the other places were undertaken by sleuths of the SIA (State Investigation Agency) after obtaining search warrants from Honโble court,โ SIA officials told The New Indian.
โThe documents and other material seized during the search were analyzed and it was found that deposits in the account(s) of accused persons were made on account of providing admissions in various technical and professional courses in Pakistan including MBBSโ
โCogent evidence surfaced during the investigation that the money so received was passed on to terrorist(s), stone pelters and OGW(s) (overground workers) for unlawful and terrorist activities,โ the officials said.
Speaking about the role of Hurriyat, the officials said, โDuring the investigation, it surfaced that the admissions in MBBS and other professional courses in Pakistan were preferentially given to those students who were close family members/relatives of killed terrorists on the recommendations of members of Hurriyat and received by their counterparts in Pakistan.โ
On the recommendation of Hurriyat leaders, Pakistani authorities provided admission to the next of kin of a slain terrorist as a โcompensation to boost morale and keep the pot of terror boiling in the valley and infuse a new spirit into the terror foldโ.
โDuring the investigation, it came to the fore that the accumulated money was ploughed into militancy and to create law and other problems by disturbing the peace, damaging public property, striking terror among the common masses and creating a potential threat to the sovereignty of India,โ the officials added.