Money being pumped into J&K to fuel unrest

Shaurya Karanbir Gurung

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 28

The National Investigation Agency with the help of security forces have found that that the current unrest in Kashmir as well as several other incidents in the last few months can be connected to suspicious transfers to bank accounts of local residents. 

The NIA explained that these incidents were believed to be fuelled by money placed and siphoned off from bank accounts of Kashmiris in the region. 

“The NIA’s intelligence wing has found that before and after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s killing, there are six to seven instances where money was distributed just to fuel the unrest. In some cases, the money was transferred just a few days before a stone-throwing incident took place,” said a top NIA officer.

Sources in the security forces based in Kashmir have also confirmed that there is an inflow of money which can be linked to the rising agitations. 

From July 9, a day after Wani’s killing by the security forces, to date in Kashmir there have been 439 non-violent protests and 463 stone-throwing incidents. There are 81 locations where properties of the state and security forces have been destroyed in arson or damaged. “All these incidents cannot take place without money. Money has been pumped into the state to fuel such unrest,” said an official.

In relation to the current scenario, the NIA said so far Rs 35 crore had been pumped into at least 25 bank accounts of two banks, including Jammu and Kashmir Bank.

“Out of this, a few lakhs have been distributed to fuel incidents of stone-throwing and other such activities of unrest, as per our analysis,” said an NIA officer.

These accounts belong to small trading firms and certain individuals whose income as per their professions doesn’t warrant such transactions. For example, two people under the NIA’s scrutiny are a carpenter based in Kupwara and a “small time” businessman of south Kashmir.

An NIA team in Kashmir is ascertaining whether the money is linked to militants based in Kashmir or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “The possible sources of the funds could be narco terrorism or hawala transactions,” said another NIA officer, adding that individuals under the agency’s scrutiny are being questioned to find out about the procurement of the funds and their disbursal. 

Another NIA officer explained that the flow of funds in J&K to fuel unrest has been happening since 2009. “From 2009 until Wani’s death, crores of rupees have been pumped into the state to fuel agitations,” said the officer.