A Delhi Court on Wednesday remanded Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj to NIA custody for 10 days in a case filed under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Mehraj was apprehended by the NIA on Monday in Srinagar and brought before a special NIA judge of Patiala House Courts in Delhi. The central agency requested 12 days in detention to interrogate Mehraj.
The NIA stated in a statement following Mehraj’s arrest, “The National Investigation Agency apprehended Irfan Mehraj from Srinagar (J&K) yesterday following extensive investigations into the NGO Terror financing case initiated in October 2020. (20.03.2023). Khurram Parvez’s close friend Irfan Mehraj worked with his group, the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civic Societies (JKCCS). An investigation found that the JKCCS was supporting terror operations in the valley and spreading a separatist agenda in the Valley under the guise of human rights protection.”
Mehraj worked as a researcher at the JKCCS till March 2022. Parvez was the rights group’s organizer, and the NIA accused him of giving “material assistance” to protesters in Kashmir during the 2016 unrest. “Khurram Parvez, under the pretense of human rights activities, was part of a bigger plan in which he recruited Muneer Ahmad Kataria as an Over Ground Worker (OGW) of the LeT,” the NIA said in the chargesheet.
Mehraj, on the other hand, has been detained in a separate case that appears to be primarily focused on the operations of NGOs in the valley. The participation of various valley-based NGOs, Trusts, and Societies “in funding of terror-related activities is being investigated in this case,” according to the NIA.
“Several NGOs, both registered and unregistered, have come to light, collecting donations both domestically and internationally under the guise of charity and different social activities such as public health and education. Nevertheless, some of these organizations have formed alliances with banned terrorist organizations including as Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), and others,” the investigating agency claimed.
