Al Huda Educational Trust terror funding case: NIA raids 18 places in J&K, arrests one

Pic: Rakesh/Excelsior

JAMMU, October 11: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday conducted searches at 18 locations in Jammu and Kashmir and arrested one person in a case related to suspect funding activities of Al Huda Educational Trust (AHET).
The agency carries out searches in Rajouri, Poonch, Jammu, Srinagar, Bandipora, Shopian, Pulwama and Budgam districts of Jammu and Kashmir and arrested Md. Ameer Shamshi is a resident of the Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir.
Shamshi is the Chairperson (Nizam-e-ala) of AHET and acts on the directions of the Chief Patron of the Trust, said the NIA in a statement.
Several mobile devices and documents related to funding and properties have been seized during the raids, the NIA said.
NIA said that the case is related to the suspicious activities of Al Huda Educational Trust in the Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir.
The NIA had suo-moto registered the case on September 3 this year to probe the funding pattern and activities of Al Huda Educational Trust, which is functioning as a frontal entity for Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, which was declared as an ‘unlawful association’ under UA(P)A in 2019.
The NIA said that Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) J&K, after being declared as an ‘unlawful association’ under UA(P)Act, has been continuing its activities through its frontal organisations.
As a frontal entity for Jamaat-e-Islami, Al Huda Educational Trust has been found “raising funds through various means, including donations, hawala etc purportedly for charitable purposes, but are instead using these funds to radicalise and incite the youth of J&K for unlawful activities and disrupt the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India”.
“Shamshi is the Chairperson (Nizam-e-ala) of AHET and acts on the directions of the Chief Patron of the Trust. Investigations have also revealed that the ex-officio Chief Patron of AHET is the Ameer-e-Jamaat, JeI (J&K). The trust has continued to raise funds even after the declaration of JEI, J&K as an ‘unlawful association’,” said the NIA.
Suspect links with other NGOs and trusts operating in the Kashmir valley have also emerged during investigations, the agency added. (AGENCIES)