Aarish Bilal/Srinagar

A special NIA court has framed charges against a Huriyat leader and seven others for selling MBBS seats in Pakistani medical colleges to gullible candidates in Kashmir against hefty sum of money, which was later allegedly used for terror funding in the Valley.

After hearing detailed arguments from a battery of lawyers from the side of the defence and the counter arguments of State Investigation Agency (SIA), represented by Special Public Prosecutor, in eleven hearings spread over five months, the Hon’ble Court of Special Judge Designated NIA, Srinagar Manjeet Singh Manhas has framed charges against accused Mohammad Akbar Bhat alias Zaffar Akbar Bhat, Chairman Salvation Movement, a constituent of Huriyat Conference.

Other accused in the case are Fatima Shah wife of Nisar Ahmad Shah, of Palhalan Pattan , Altaf Ahmad Bhat presently in Pakistan. Qazi Yasir son of late Nisar Ahmad Qazi of Qazi Mohalla, Anantnag, Mohammad Abdullah Shah of Kupwara, Sabzar Ahmad Sheikh of Shangus Anantnag, Manzoor Ahmad of Kupwara at present Pakistan and Mohd Iqbal Mir of Anantnag. All the accused have been charged under sections 13, 17, 18, 40 UA(P) Act r/w 420 IPC in case FIR No.05/2020 of P/S CIK/SIA Srinagar.

The case FIR No.05/2020 was registered in CIK/SIA on 27-07- 2020 against the accused who were allegedly hand in glove with some educational consultancies for arranging admission of J&K residents in MBBS and other professional courses in various Colleges, Institutions and Universities in Pakistan. Huge amount of money was received in lien of such admission from the parents of the students, and the money so earned was ploughed into supporting terrorism in J&K.

During the course of investigation, searches in the houses of accused persons and at the other places were undertaken by sleuths of SIA after obtaining search warrants from Hon’ble Court. The documents and other material seized during the search were analyzed and it was found that deposits in the account(s) of accused persons were made on account of providing admissions in various technical and professional courses in Pakistan.

According to the investigators, cogent evidence surfaced during investigation that the money so received was passed on to terrorists, stone pelters and OGW(s) for unlawful and terrorist activities. During the course of investigation statement of witnesses were recorded and on the basis of other evidence collected it surfaced that the admissions in MBBS and other professional courses in Pakistan was in preferentially given to those students who were close family member / relative of killed terrorists on the recommendations of members of Hurriyat and received by their counterparts in Pakistan. It was on the recommendations of Hurriyat that authorities in Pakistan provided admission in the professional colleges to the next of kins (NOK’s) of killed terrorist as a compensation to boost their morale.

Sources said that It was further established during investigation that a part of larger conspiracy accused persons through different valley based consultancies without their knowledge used to motivate the gullible parents of students aspiring for professional courses especially for MBBS to apply through these consultancies for such courses in Pakistan with the assurance of cost effectiveness in comparison with other south Asian or middle east countries offering such courses. On the motivation of accused persons the parents / students often used to get trapped.

The accused persons in conspiracy with Hurriyat leaders based in Pakistan and Kashmir were demanding huge amounts of money from parents for getting their children admitted in different technical courses especially MBBS in Pakistan. Moreover, they also would arrange recommendations letters from Hurriyat leaders and other VTD’s (valid travel documents) from Pakistan Embassy, New Delhi to facilitate their visit to Pakistan for admission. All the arrangements of parents / students in Pakistan were usually done by the accused persons in Pakistan.

The students were made to appear in the National Talent Search (NTS) test at Hurriyat office in Pakistan used dupe tactics to make them believe that they were writing a prequalifying test which would lead to their admission in professional colleges in Pakistan. Such tests were mostly facilitated by the person's / relative of the accused persons who had exfiltrated to Pakistan in 1990’s to get illegal arms training and are settled in Pakistan / Pakistan occupied Kashmir, who are utilizing their Kashmir based contacts to further aid and abet terrorism in J&K.

During investigation it came to fore that the accumulated money was ploughed into militancy and to create law and other problems by disturbing peace, damaging public property, striking terror among the common masses and creating potential threat to the sovereignty of India. Money raised through this process was also distributed among the families of killed terrorists as a token of incentive for such families and families of active militants to boost their moral and carry forward antinational activities against the Union of India.

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Recently Govt. of India /MCI have issued notifications that professional Degrees such as, MBBS and other technical courses obtained from Pakistan will not be recognized in India.