The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday raided three locations in Kashmir, including a leading Islamic seminary in Shopian and a girls’ residential educational institute in Srinagar, as part of a terror funding case linked to the banned separatist group Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI).

The NIA said in a statement that searches were conducted at three locations in Srinagar and Shopian districts of Kashmir, leading to the recovery of several “incriminating financial documents and electronic gadgets suspected to be related with the activities” of the Jamaat and various trusts and associations of the group.

The agency did not identify the locations, but police sources said they included Jamia Siraj ul Uloom in Shopian and Jamiat ul Banaat in Srinagar. The third raid was conducted at the residence of Jamaat leader Shahzada Aurangzeb at Molu Chitragam in
Shopian.

The Shopian-based seminary, which combines traditional religious teachings with modern education, was declared an unlawful entity under the UAPA last month, marking the first time action had been taken under an anti-terror law against a major Islamic institution.

Jamia Siraj ul Uloom has denied any link with the Jamaat. The Srinagar-based Jamiat ul Banaat also denies association with the separatist group and describes itself as a women’s educational institution run by the Taleem e Niswaan Trust that is recognised by the Jammu and Kashmir government. The institution, located at Umer Colony in Srinagar’s Lal Bazar, says it imparts moral and contemporary education to girls.

The NIA said it had been probing the separatist and secessionist activities of the JeI, already declared an unlawful association under the UAPA.

“The NIA’s investigations so far have revealed that JeI was actively involved in collecting terror funds and fueling terrorism in the Valley and other parts of India. It was engaged in collecting funds domestically and internationally in the name of donations for charity and welfare activities such as health and education,” the NIA said in a statement.

“It was diverting such funds towards violent and secessionist activities, and also channelling them to proscribed terrorist organisations such as the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) and others through well-organised networks of cadres,” it added.

The central agency said the terror conspiracy also involved “radicalisation and recruitment of impressionable Kashmiri youth as new members (Rukuns) for carrying out secessionist activities”.

“The NIA is continuing with its investigation in the case in a bid to end the outfit’s secessionist activities and dismantle the terror network operating in J&K,” the statement said.

Though the JeI, a religious-cum-political organisation, has borne the brunt of the crackdown on separatists after the 2019 scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, several leaders of the group were allowed by lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha’s administration to contest the 2024 Assembly polls in an apparent bid to weaken the National Conference, the biggest pro-India party in Jammu and Kashmir. The Jamaat leaders failed to win any seat.