Let NIA complete probe before jumping to conclusions: Congress

Senior Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Friday said that Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president (JKNC) Farooq Abdullah should wait and watch until the National Investigation Agency (NIA) completes its investigation after it conducted raids in connection with a terror-funding case and Line of Control (LoC) trade case.

"Let NIA do their work, if NIA is investigating or something else we will get to know. I'll ask Farooq sahab to wait until the investigation is completed. We have trust on NIA," Dikshit told ANI.

He also said that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) could be using its money power to break the National Conference party.

Expressing similar sentiments, Congress leader Tom Vadakkan said, "Well these are issues which can be debated till the cow returns home but the point is NIA is investigating and we should give them time to investigate. Let them find out who is financing them.

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president ( JKNC) Farooq Abdullah had said he would not acknowledge the NIA raids until it brings out some results.

Addressing the media, Abdullah said nobody would bow down due to the torture of the NIA and the Government of India.

"I will acknowledge the NIA raids only if they bring any consequences. If they are being conducted to threaten people and to torture them, then I would like to tell the Centre and the NIA that no matter how much they torture us, nobody will bow down before them," he added.

The NIA on Thursday carried out searches at 11 more locations i.e. nine in Kashmir valley and one each in Jammu and Gurugram, in connection with the Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case and Line of Control (LoC) Trade case.

The locations related to Hurriyat leaders namely Ghulam Nabi Sumji and Syed Aga Hassan Budgami and close aides of Shabbir Shah viz. Zameer Sheikh and Razzaq Choudhary were searched.

The offices of the Chartered Accountants of Hawala operator Zahoor Watali and residences of suspect LoC traders were also searched.

They are suspected of fuelling secessionist and subversive activities in Jammu and Kashmir .

During the searches, FDs worth over Rs 1 crore and lots of incriminating material, suspect's financial records, property-related documents and electronic devices have been seized.

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief and top separatist Yasin Malik was arrested in Srinagar by the NIA.

Malik, who had warned to launch a protest against the NIA in Delhi, was nabbed from his Abi Guzar office in Srinagar.

On Wednesday, separatists Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik had said that they will protest outside the NIA headquarters on 9 September against, what they termed as, 'vilification of Kashmiri' people by the investigation agency.

However, Malik had alleged that the Centre was foisting one issue or the other every month on the people of Kashmir. 

-ANI