Three prominent leaders of the recently-bannedJamaat-e-Islami were arrested and nearly a dozen assets sealed during raidsacross six districts of Jammu province, the police said on Sunday.
The day-long raids on the offices and houses of JeI leadersand activists were conducted in Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Poonch, Rajouri andJammu districts Saturday, during which a large quantity of incriminating documentswere seized for scrutiny, a police officer said.
He said at least six bank accounts linked to the group havebeen identified and the banks concerned directed to immediately freeze them.
The government of India Thursday banned Jamaat-e-IslamiJammu and Kashmir for five years, alleging that it was “in close touch withmilitant outfits” and expected to “escalate secessionist movement” in thestate.
A notification, banning the group under the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act, was issued by the ministry of home affairs after ahigh-level meeting on security, chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi.
Top leaders of the organisation along with over 150activists were arrested in Kashmir Valley, where the group has a largepresence, last week. Muhammad Majeed Sheikh, Muhammad Iqbal Naik andGhulamQadirBhat were arrested from Kishtwar district, where another Jamaatleader, GhulamNabiGundana, was put under house arrest as he had undergone asurgery recently, the officer said.
He said two Jamaat activists, who were detained in Doda,were later released after questioning.
All schools run by JeI in the districts were searched duringthe raids on Saturday, the officer said adding these schools were not sealedbut are being kept under surveillance.
Meanwhile, vice president of J&K Congress and formerminister G M Saroori voiced his resentment against the crackdown on JeI andsaid the action against the group is against the democratic set up of thecountry.
“Jamaat is not a terrorist organisation…It is running over300 schools in the state for six decades and providing employment to thousandsof educated youth,” Saroori, who hails from Kishtwar district, said.
He said the action against the religious organisation seems”politically motivated in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections”.
“If government has any proof against Jamaat, it should makeit public. The action against anyone involved in terrorism or waging waragainst the country is justified but banning a group which is involved inreligious preaching and believes in Islamic ideology is against the democraticvalues,” he said. Referring to thearrest of Muhammad Iqbal Naik from Kishtwar, he said he is a thoroughgentleman, who served as a doctor before his retirement. “We have never seenhim indulging in anything wrong. If anyone is involved in terrorism, the actionagainst him is justified but banning any group and putting its activists injails is not in good taste,” he said.