New Delhi: A week after the role of terror operatives who were professional doctors emerged in the Red Fort blast, the Jammu and Kashmir Police Tuesday detained another doctor employed at Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital.
Along with the doctor, identified as Umer Farood Bhat, the counter intelligence unit of the UT Police also detained his wife, Shahzada Akhtar, on charges that included promoting terrorism and radicalising youth. A resident of Kulgam, she lives with her doctor husband in Srinagar’s Shireen Bagh.
“By leveraging their professional status and societal standing, the involved individuals were allegedly using social media platforms to spread disinformation, radicalise youth, incite violence and disturb public order, posing a serious threat to the peace and sovereignty of the Union of India,” a Jammu and Kashmir Police spokesperson said.
Akhtar, in particular, has been been found to have allegedly made attempts to radicalise women, both online and offline, through community engagements, a J&K Police spokesperson said Tuesday. The counter intelligence unit is also probing her affiliation with the banned outfit ‘Dukhtaran-e-Milat’ an all-woman outfit earlier headed by jailed Asiya Andrabi.
Lodged in a Delhi jail after her arrest by the National Investigation Agency in July 2018, along with her two associates, Andrabi is awaiting judgment in a trial ongoing in a Delhi court.
“Shahzada Akhtar, in particular, is alleged to have been involved in radicalising local women through curated online and offline engagements, pushing divisive narratives, and influencing vulnerable groups under the pretext of community interaction. Her affiliation with the banned terrorist organisation ‘Dukhtaran-e-Milat’ is currently under investigation,” a J&K Police spokesperson said Tuesday.
The doctor and his wife were detained after the agency swooped in on several locations in the Srinagar, Kulgam, and Anantnag districts of the union territory.
These searches were carried out as part of the crackdown against social media users who the agency said were operating in collusion with cross-border handlers and were promoting acts amounting to terrorism and secessionism.
Before the search, early morning Tuesday, the counter intelligence (CI) unit of Kashmir registered a case under Section 196 (promoting disharmony or enmity between groups based on religion, race, language, caste, or community), Section 152 (acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India), Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) as well as Section 13 of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act that deals with punishment for abetting unlawful activities.
During the searches, the CI team seized incriminating material, including mobile phones, five SIM cards, one tablet, and additional documentary devices directly linked to their activities, the police said. All these devices are being sent to forensic laboratories.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)