Kashmir unrest: NIA team probing 'suspicious' funds transaction in the state

New Delhi: A three-member NIA team, headed by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG), has been probing "suspicious" funds transaction in over a dozen bank accounts in Jammu and Kashmir that are suspected to have been used to fuel unrest in the valley, an official said on Monday.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team, including two Superintendents of Police-rank officials, has been scrutinizing details of fund flow of some accounts of Jammu and Kashmir Bank and some other private banks in which multiple transaction were made in the last few months. 

"There are around half a dozen bank accounts in Jammu and Kashmir in which some suspicious transactions were made in the last few months. As the transaction amount was higher than the income of the account holder, it raised suspicion. It seems that the suspicious funds were used to fuel unrest in the valley," a government official told IANS on condition of anonymity. 

The official said they were yet to confirm the exact number of bank accounts but it seemed to be more than one dozen. 

He said the banks are bound to disclose information to investigation agencies under section 43F UAPA Act and failure to do so can attract three years of imprisonment.

The official said the details of certain bank accounts, having inflow and outflow of huge transaction in Jammu and Kashmir, came to light during investigations. 

"We suspect that the inflow of suspicious amounts was made from Pakistan-based Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists," the official said. 

He added that JuD chief Hafiz Saeed had recently announced relief for Kashmiri people. 

"As the JuD and other Pakistan-based organisations are under investigation, direct funds were not made. The funds reached to the specific persons through different transactions in several bank accounts."