Srinagar : In a major crackdown, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday carried out searches at 12 locations in Kashmir, including the premises of several journalists, in connection with the threats allegedly issued by militants to select journalists.
Police said after the searches in Srinagar, Anantnag and Kulgam districts that some suspects have been brought for examination and questioning.
The searches were carried out after the police registered a case against the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its offshoot The Resistance Front for online publication and dissemination of direct threat letters to journalists and reporters based in Kashmir.
A police spokesman said the searches were carried out at the houses of, among others, fugitives like Sajjad Gul, Mukhtar Baba … and other suspects”.
The other premises which were searched included journalists Mohd Rafi at Nigeen, Khalid Gul at Anantnag, Rashid Maqbool at Lal Bazar, Sajjad Kralyari at Rainawari, Gowhar Geelani at Soura, Qazi Shibli at Anantnag and Waseem Khalid at Rawalpora.
The other premises included that of Momin Gulzar at Eidgah, Basit Dar at Kulgam, Sajjad Sheikh alias Sajjad Gul at HMT Srinagar, Mukhtar Baba at Nowgam and Adil Pandit at Khanyar Srinagar.
“During search, all the legal formalities were followed professionally and consequent to the searches some suspects have been brought for examination and questioning. The seized materials include mobiles, laptops, memory cards, pen drives and other digital devices, documents, bank papers, rubber stamps, passports, other suspect papers, cash, Saudi currency among others,” the spokesman said.
“The investigation in the instant case is in full swing and general public is requested to bring any information that is relevant to this case in the notice of Srinagar Police,” it added.
Five Kashmiri journalists had resigned earlier this week after a militant group put out a list of a dozen media persons, including editors and reporters of mainly three Srinagar-based organizations, accusing them of being spies for security forces.
On Friday, the Editors Guild of India expressed concern on reports of threats to journalists and urged the Union Territory administration to ensure their security.