Srinagar city official, lawyer and cleric among 5 detained for intimidation through Pakistan sponsored blog | India News
SRINAGAR: The secretary of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, a senior lawyer for Poonch and a cleric were among five suspects arrested at J&K on Saturday in a crackdown on an intimidation ring linked to a Pakistan-sponsored blog targeting journalists, activists, politicians and even government officials.
Civic official Muhammad Akbar Sofi, his daughter Nazish Yasrab Rehmani and his son Tabish Akbar Rehmani are said to have worked with the alleged leaders, Peerzada Raqif Makhdoomi of Batpora in Hazratbal and the lawyer based in Poonch Javed Khalid, IGP (Kashmir range) Vijay Kumar said.
The accused ran the blog “Kashmirfight.wordpress.com”, which J&K police say is sponsored by the Pakistani ISI, from “war rooms” spread across properties in Sanat Nagar and Raj Bagh in Srinagar, Batpura in Hazratbal, Poonch in Jammu and Arihal. in southern Kashmir Pulwama.
“It should be mentioned that Kashmir fight.wordpress.com was run by a union of white collar activists whose task is to prepare a strategic roster of government officers, journalists, social activists, lawyers and civil servants. policies that have been held responsible for undermining the overriding objectives of promoting and sustaining the Pakistan-backed militant agenda, with the eventual goal of secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian Union and eventual annexation with Pakistan, ”IGP Kumar said.
Armed with search warrants, police teams raided all suspect premises and seized dozens of cell phones, digital storage devices and computer platforms. “In one house, 32 cell phones, one tablet, two laptops, four hard drives, seven memory cards and a dongle were confiscated,” Kumar said.
In 2018, shortly after journalist Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead, the blog mentioned the names of several high-ranking scribes working for national news and television stations and also published their photos in an alleged attempt to incite terrorist groups to target them.
While Sofi’s daughter and son were arrested at the house recently purchased by the family in Sanat Nagar, the company’s municipal secretary was arrested on Saturday morning at his second wife’s Raj Bagh residence.
Lawyer Khalid was engaged to Sofi’s daughter, Nazish, after Eid al-Adha or Bakra Eid later this week.
Police expect the seized laptops and storage devices to provide clues to the plot behind the murders of journalist Bukhari, lawyer Babar Qadri and Satpal Nischal, a 65-year-old jeweler who had obtained a certificate of residence last year.
Civic official Muhammad Akbar Sofi, his daughter Nazish Yasrab Rehmani and his son Tabish Akbar Rehmani are said to have worked with the alleged leaders, Peerzada Raqif Makhdoomi of Batpora in Hazratbal and the lawyer based in Poonch Javed Khalid, IGP (Kashmir range) Vijay Kumar said.
The accused ran the blog “Kashmirfight.wordpress.com”, which J&K police say is sponsored by the Pakistani ISI, from “war rooms” spread across properties in Sanat Nagar and Raj Bagh in Srinagar, Batpura in Hazratbal, Poonch in Jammu and Arihal. in southern Kashmir Pulwama.
“It should be mentioned that Kashmir fight.wordpress.com was run by a union of white collar activists whose task is to prepare a strategic roster of government officers, journalists, social activists, lawyers and civil servants. policies that have been held responsible for undermining the overriding objectives of promoting and sustaining the Pakistan-backed militant agenda, with the eventual goal of secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian Union and eventual annexation with Pakistan, ”IGP Kumar said.
Armed with search warrants, police teams raided all suspect premises and seized dozens of cell phones, digital storage devices and computer platforms. “In one house, 32 cell phones, one tablet, two laptops, four hard drives, seven memory cards and a dongle were confiscated,” Kumar said.
In 2018, shortly after journalist Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead, the blog mentioned the names of several high-ranking scribes working for national news and television stations and also published their photos in an alleged attempt to incite terrorist groups to target them.
While Sofi’s daughter and son were arrested at the house recently purchased by the family in Sanat Nagar, the company’s municipal secretary was arrested on Saturday morning at his second wife’s Raj Bagh residence.
Lawyer Khalid was engaged to Sofi’s daughter, Nazish, after Eid al-Adha or Bakra Eid later this week.
Police expect the seized laptops and storage devices to provide clues to the plot behind the murders of journalist Bukhari, lawyer Babar Qadri and Satpal Nischal, a 65-year-old jeweler who had obtained a certificate of residence last year.
