Federal anti-terrorism officials searched the homes and offices of separatist leaders in Kashmir on Saturday as part of an investigation into whether money from Pakistan was being used to fund violent street protests against the Indian government.
In what is the first such crackdown on financing of separatists, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided 26 places across Kashmir, Delhi and Haryana, allegedly recovering letterheads of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), laptops, mobile phones, gold jewellery and more than Rs 2.5 crore in cash.
The early morning swoop saw officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the nodal agency to investigate money laundering, joining the raids. “Our teams have raided 18 places in Kashmir and seven in Delhi and one near the Delhi-Haryana border,” said NIA chief Sharad Kumar.