New Delhi: Altaf Ahmed Shah, son-in-law of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has been questioned for the second time by the National Investigation Agency in connection with terror funding in the Kashmir Valley.
The NIA has lodged an FIR in the case which also names Hafiz Saeed, founder of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, as one of the fund raisers responsible for pumping money into the Valley for subversive activities.
Mr Shah, also known as Altaf Fantoosh, was interrogated by the agency on June 9 about details of his property in the Valley and Jammu and the source of its funding. Sources said Shah is likely to be questioned again.
On Monday Mr Shah was also questioned about the funding of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, an organisation led by Mr Geelani. Mr Geelani has already described the interrogation of his son-in-law as harassment, alleging that it was against law and being deliberately targeted by investigating agencies.
The NIA had raided Mr Shah’s house a few days ago along with that of Shahid-ul-Islam, who is a close associated of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, leader of Hurriyat’s moderate faction. Mr Shah is said to be playing an important role in the functioning of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. The NIA had conducted nationwide raids nearly 10 days ago in connection with the terror funding case during which it recovered '2 crore in cash, including foreign currency of UAE and Saudi Arabia, along with some incriminating documents.
The NIA suspects funds for terror activities in the Valley originated from Pakistan and were then routed into the country from Bangladesh, UAE and Saudi Arabia using hawala network.
