The newly constituted State Investigation Agency of Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday filed its first chargesheet against nine people, including the leader of Hurriyat Conference Zaffar Bhat for selling MBBS seats in Pakistan to students of Kashmir.
Money earned by selling MBBS seats was used to fund terror groups active in Kashmir Valley and other parts of the Union Territory. Bhat is chairman of the Salvation Movement, which is one of the constituents of the Hurriyat Conference.
The charge sheet under section 173 CrPc was filed in case FIR No. 05/2020 under section 13, 17, 18, 40, ULP Act, 420 IPC of police station CIK Srinagar before Special Judge designated Court at Srinagar under NIA Act.
Chargesheet was filed against Akbar Bhat alias Zaffar Akbar Bhat, Fatima Shah wife of Nisar Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Bhat (A/P Pakistan), Qazi Yasir, Mohammad Abdullah Shah, Sabzar Ahmad Sheikh, Manzoor Ahmad Shah (A/P Pakistan), and Mohammad Iqbal Mir.
Case registered by CIK
The case was registered by the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), a branch of the police's CID, in July last 2020 after receiving information through reliable sources that several unscrupulous people, including some Hurriyat leaders, were hand in glove with some educational consultancies and were selling Pakistan-based MBBS seats and seats in other professional courses in colleges and universities.
During the investigation, evidence was collected and in analysis, it surfaced that MBBS and other professional degrees-related seats were preferentially given to those students who were close family members or relatives of killed militants, they said.
Money used to fund terror groups
As reported earlier, over 100 students from Kashmir Valley usually go to Pakistan for higher studies, especially for MBBS, every year. In the year 2020, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had unearthed the scam between students, Pakistan High Commission officials, and separatists of Kashmir Valley.
The NIA had termed admissions of students from Jammu and Kashmir to medical institutions in Pakistan on the recommendations of separatists as an "alternative mechanism" of terror funding in the Valley.
After getting authentic inputs that some Hurriyat leaders were selling Pakistan-based MBBS seats with the connivance of educational consultancies, the Counter-Intelligence Kashmir had registered a case in July 2020.
It was established during the investigation that the money collected from the parents of the aspiring or potential students was used to support and fund terrorism and separatism in different ways.
SIA constituted to investigate terror-related cases
In November this year, the J&K government has constituted a specialized agency State Investigation Agency (SIA) for investigation and prosecution of the offences specified under different Acts, covering all terrorism-related cases.
As per the order issued by the government, the SIA will be the nodal agency for coordinating with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other central agencies and will take such other measures as "may be necessary for speedy and effective investigation and prosecution of terrorism-related cases."
SIA consists of a Director and a number of officers and employees as are deputed by the government from time to time.
It was ordered that all the officers In-charge of the Police Stations will mandatorily intimate the SIA immediately upon registration of terrorism-related cases.
