MHA constitutes team to act against ‘militant sympathizers’ in JK

Srinagar, Mar 29: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Friday formed a group comprising of top J&K policemen and officers from intelligence, investigative, and tax agencies to take action against “terror financers” and government employees acting as “sympathizers” of militancy in J&K.
An official order in this regard constituted what it called a Multi-Disciplinary “Terror Monitoring Group” (TMG) with ADGP CID (J&K Police) as its chairman.
The other members of the Group, as per the order, include IGP (J&K Police), Additional Director Intelligence Bureau (J&K), Representatives of CBI, NIA, Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and any other member co-opted by the Chairman.
The Group, apart from other terms of reference, is supposed to “take action against hardcore sympathizers amongst Government employees including teachers etc. who are providing covert or overt support to such activities.”
It has to, as per the order, take coordinated action in all registered cases relating to militancy, “terror financing” and any militancy related activity and “bring them to logical conclusion.”
The MHA also wants the group to identify all key persons including leaders of the organisations who are “involved” in supporting militancy in any form and take “concerted action” against them.
It has also been asked to investigate the “networks of various channels being used to fund” militancy and militancy-related activities and take “coordinated action to stop flow of such funds.”
The Group, as per the order, has been directed to meet on a weekly basis and submit their action taken report regularly.
The move to form it comes after Government of India’s recent decisions to ban socio-religious group Jamaat-e-Islami, Yasin Malik-led JKLF, while taking stringent measures, including detention, raids and seizure of properties, against several valley businessmen and Hurriyat leaders it claims are supporting militancy and channeling funds for it.
Back in September 2017, NIA had raided around 27 places in Kashmir, New Delhi and Gurugram (Haryana) in connection with the case and seized cash, trade documents, computers, phones and other equipment from various persons and businessmen.
More raids and arrests have followed since then.