Jammu: Tightening its noose on separatists, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) today picked another Hurriyat leader, Devinder Singh Behl, from his house in Bakshi Nagar, Jammu. One of the few non-Muslim separatist leaders, he was detained for over four hours.

Jammu: Tightening its noose on separatists, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) today picked another Hurriyat leader, Devinder Singh Behl, from his house in Bakshi Nagar, Jammu. One of the few non-Muslim separatist leaders, he was detained for over four hours.

Behl is chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Social Peace Forum (JKSPF), a constituent of the Hurriyat Conference (Geelani group) and also a member of the Hurriyat’s legal cell. He has been attending the funerals of militants across the Valley, raising anti-India slogans. 

NIA Inspector General Alok Mittal said, “We conducted searches at the residence and office of Devinder Singh Behl, chairman, JKSPF, during which the team seized four cellphones, a tablet, incriminating documents and financial papers.” He said they were probing his role as a courier as he was suspected to be routing funds  from Pakistan-based handlers.

On July 24, the NIA, while on a hawala money trail, had arrested separatist leaders from Kashmir, including the son-in-law of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Altaf Fantosh, Nayeem Khan, Peer Saifullah, Aftab Hilali Shah (Shahid-ul Islam), Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Farooq Ahmed Dar (Bitta Karate) and Ayaz Akber.