Asiya Andrabi, two associates sent to 10-day NIA custody in Delhi

New Delhi, July 6: Chief of ‘Dukhtaran-e-Milat’, Asiya Andrabi, and two of her associates were shifted to Delhi by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday and produced before a special court there, which granted the Agency 10-day custody of the trio for interrogation in a case alleging they had “waged war against India”.
Asiya and her associates, Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen, were taken from Srinagar Central Jail to the Srinagar international airport by NIA officers for being flown to Delhi, police sources said.
The NIA, later in the day, made Asiya and the associates appear before a Delhi court and alleged that she has “waged a war against India” while demanding for custodial interrogation.
The trio was produced before District and Sessions Judge Poonam Bamba, who allowed the plea of the agency that Asiya was required to be quizzed for “hate speeches” over a period in Kashmir valley.
The NIA had sought the custody of Andrabi and her two associates for 15 days. They were produced amidst tight security and the proceedings were held in-camera.
The lawyers, who were associated with the case, were allowed inside the courtroom and they briefed the waiting media about the court proceedings. The case was registered against the three women in April this year.
Seeking their custody, the NIA said, “The present investigation has so far revealed that the accused persons are found involved in the conspiracy and acts to severely destabilize the sovereignty and integrity of India.
“By their activities on cyber space they are running a concerted campaign to solicit support of Pakistani establishment which inter-alia includes arranging support from militant entities from Pakistan.
“Their involvement needs further investigation and for this purpose the interrogation of accused persons has become a necessity.”
The three women have been arrested for the offences under sections 147(rioting), 148(rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149(unlawful assembly), 341(wrongful restraint), 336(endangering life of others), 307(attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of Ranbir Penal Code and under relevant provisions of Prevention of Damage of Public Property Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Andrabi, who was in a prison in Srinagar after the Jammu and Kashmir High Court cancelled her bail last month, was brought here from Kashmir along with her associates.
The NIA, on directions of the Union Home Ministry, registered a case against them as well as the organisation, which is banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, in April this year.
“They are using various media platforms to spread insurrectionary imputations and hateful speeches that endanger the integrity, security and sovereignty of India. DEM through Aasiya Andrabi openly advocates secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India and has also called for Jihad and use of violence against India,” the FIR alleged.
The NIA earlier took custody of Asiya, and her associates in connection with a case registered in April this year for allegedly “waging war” against the country and “delivering hate speeches”, officials said.
The agency, in the FIR, also said that Andrabi and her aides had spoken, written and also published “visible representations that bring into hatred and contempt apart from exciting disaffection towards the Government of India”.
The organisation, it added, is “promoting enmity, hatred and ill-will between different communities on the grounds of religion and is doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”.
Asiya was arrested by the police in Anantnag in April this year for allegedly planning to organise a large-scale demonstration in the area. She was not released despite being granted bail by the court and was arrested in a different case.
The high court cancelled the bail of Andrabi and others in the case after police submitted its case diaries and the investigation was carried out.