A Delhi court on Friday sent Kashmiri separatist leaders Shabir Shah, Masrat Alam Bhat and Aasiya Andrabi to judicial custody till 12 July in connection with an alleged militant funding case.
They were presented before Additional Sessions Judge AnilAntil on expiry of their 10-day National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody.The NIA requested the court to send them to judicial custody.
Citing poor health, Aasiya requested the court to appearbefore it through video conference for the next hearing. The court asked thedefence counsel to approach the concerned court after vacation.
Shah, Bhat and Aasiya was arrested on 4 June in connectionwith the alleged militant funding case, which the NIA registered in May 2017after violence erupted in the Kashmir.
So far, the agency has arrested several separatist leaders,including Aftab Hilali Shah alias Shahid-ul-Islam, Ayaz Akbar Khandey, FarooqAhmad Dar alias Bitta Karate, Nayeem Khan, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Raja MehrajuddinKalwal and Bashir Ahmad Bhat alias Peer Saifullah.
The NIA had on January 18, 2018 filed a charge sheet against12 persons, including Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideenchief Syed Salahuddin in connection with the case.
Later the agency filed supplementary charge sheets againstthe other accused, including Kashmiri businessman Watali and Dubai-basedbusinessman Naval Kishore Kapoor.Shabir Shah is undergoing judicial custody inTihar Jail, after he was arrested on 25 July 2017 on charges of moneylaundering in a case dating back to 2005 when the Delhi Police Special Cellarrested an alleged Hawala dealer AslamWani.