New Delhi, Jan. 17 (TNS): Indian watchdog National Investigation Agency (NIA) will file a charge sheet on Thursday against Kashmiri separatist leaders and businessmen in a case of alleged funding of ‘terror’ and secessionist activities in the occupied Kashmir, Indian media reported on Wednesday.
The six-month police and judicial custody of the accused arrested in the case ends on Thursday.
Under the anti-terror law — the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act — the prosecuting agency has to file a charge sheet within six months, failing which the accused is eligible for bail.
The NIA had arrested Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Altaf Fantoosh, the son-in-law of fire-brand separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani; spokesman of moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Shahid-ul-Islam; spokesman of the Geelani-led faction of Hurriyat Ayaz Akbar; and separatists Nayeem Khan, Bashir Bhat alias Peer Saifullah and Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal.
Noted businessman Zahoor Ahmed Watali was also arrested by the NIA in the case, which was registered after the valley was rocked by violent protests after Hizbul Mujahideen poster boy Burhan Wani was martyred in a gunfight with security forces in 2016.
