The Hindu : Geelani, son-in-law arrested under POTA

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 10, 2002

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Geelani, son-in-law arrested under POTA

By Shujaat Bukhari

Syed Ali Shah Geelani being taken into the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi on Sunday. — PTI

SRINAGAR JUNE 9. The former All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chairman, Syed Ali Geelani, and his son-in-law, Mohammad Altaf Shah, were arrested under POTA during the wee hours of Sunday, following raids by police and Income Tax officials at nine places in the Kashmir Valley to choke the channels of militant funding. Rupee notes worth lakhs, $ 10,000 notes and a large number of documents have been seized from Mr. Geelani's residence.

Sources told The Hindu that Income Tax personnel and police raided Mr. Geelani's Hyderpora residence and arrested him. Around 4.30 a.m. he expressed a desire to offer morning prayers but he was told to offer them at the airport. Before the search at his two-storey bungalow began, he was taken to the Air Force airport where a BSF plane was kept waiting. Senior cardiologist, Khurshid Iqbal from the Soura Medical Institute travelled with Mr. Geelani (who has a heart condition) while he was flown to Ranchi to be lodged in the Central Jail there.

The search at the residence was continuing till late in the evening. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the area. The modus operandi for conducting raids was worked out at a high-level meeting between I-T officials and a police team led by the Inspector-General of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, K. Rajindra Kumar. The officials have been flown to Srinagar in a special flight from Delhi.

The Director-General of Police, Ashok K. Suri, at a hurriedly-convened news conference said the arrest of a Kashmir-based detective agency owner, Imtiyaz Bazaz, on May 25 had brought to light Mr. Geelani's involvement in channelising finances from Pakistan's ISI through a U.K.- based Kashmiri expatriate and president of the World Kashmir Freedom Movement, Ayub Thukar, for militant leaders including the Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief, Asiya Indrabi. Interrogation of Bazaz and also investigations in the case revealed that Syed Salahuddin, Pakistan-based supreme commander of the Hizb-ul Mujahideen, had been sending money to his commanders through Dr. Thukar and Mr. Geelani.

The police officer said that in the beginning of 2001, Mr. Salahuddin had sent a consignment of Rs. 48 lakhs to Mr. Geelani through Dr. Thukar. The arrest of Asiya's husband Qasim Faktoo who was financial chief of the Jamiatul Mujahideen, led to a severe financial crunch and Asiya started getting money from Thukar through Imtiyaz Bazaz to provide funds for the JuM and the DeM.

A joint team of police and I-T officials raided nine places, including those of Mr. Geelani and his son-in-law, Asiya Indrabi and Abdur Rashid Saraf in Baramulla.

The recoveries from the search of the Hyderpora residence of Mr. Geelani include cash of Rs. 10,25,000 and $10,000, vouchers relating to the purchase of a large quantity of jewellery, documents relating to the purchase of properties in Srinagar, one diamond-studded watch with an inscription `From the Pakistan Government', three vehicles, passbooks of several bank accounts, locker keys, two computers with details of transactions and a list of militants, and secessionist propaganda literature.

According to an initial assessment of I-T officials, the monthly income of Mr. Geelani is more than Rs. 1,50,000 which is against his declared income of Rs. 7,100 as pension for being a former MLA and Rs. 10,000 from agriculture. From the residence of Mr. Fantoosh too, several documents relating to the purchase of properties have been seized. During the raid conducted at the residence of Mr. Geelani's driver, G.M. Baba, the latter has been found in possession of a truck and a drilling machine worth Rs 1.3 lakhs. Searches are on to arrest Asiya Indrabi and others.

APHC calls for strike

The APHC has strongly reacted to the arrest of Mr. Geelani and called for a general strike protesting against it on Tuesday.

PTI reports from Islamabad:

Pakistan has strongly criticised India for arresting Mr. Geelani in ``utter disregard'' of fundamental rights and demanded his immediate release.

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