The crackdown on terror funding in J&K has been stepped up by the NIA, with its searches in multiple locations in Budgam and Baramulla districts of Kashmir, as part of the ongoing investigation into Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) activities. The agency had earlier charged four persons in the case, and Thursday’s search led to the recovery of several digital devices and incriminating material. It revealed that JeI (J&K) was collecting money ostensibly for charitable purposes such as promotion of health and education, yet using it for carrying out unlawful activities. Furthermore, NIA found that members were collecting funds within and outside India through donations particularly in the form of Zakat, Mowda and Bait-ul-Mal which were then being channeled to proscribed terrorist organizations like Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), amongst others, via a network of cadres. Additionally, JeI had been motivating Kashmiri youth to join their terrorist and secessionist movement against India.
