The State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Thursday carried out searches at the head office of media outlet — Kashmir Times — in Jammu as part of its ongoing probe into the alleged dissemination of terrorist and secessionist ideology.
The State Investigation Agency has allegedly recovered arms and ammunition from the Valley's oldest newspaper, during the raid.
According to the investigative agency, 14 empty cases of AK-series weapons, three live AK rounds, four fired bullets, three grenade safety levers, a revolver, and three suspected pistol rounds were found in the newspaper's Jammu office.
Charges against The Kashmir Times
The SIA accused the Kashmir Times of “involvement in criminal conspiracy with secessionists and other anti-national entities”.
But according to The Kashmir Times, the raided office in Jammu was shut for the past 4 years and was out of operation.
The National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also reacted strongly to the SIA raids at the Kashmir Times office, terming it an attempt to exert pressure on the media.
The Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Singh Choudhary urged authorities to ensure that action is taken only where wrongdoing is established and not merely to exert pressure. "If they have done something wrong, then action should be taken. If they have done wrong, they will face the consequences. But it should not be done just to pressurise. If you do it only to pressurise, then that will be wrong,"
Remember, the raids come at a time when the newspaper is already fighting charges of spreading inflammatory, fabricated and false narratives that attempt to radicalise J&K youth.
'Raids illegitimate'
The newspaper's owner Anuradha Bhasin called the raid another illegitimate attempt to silence critical voices. Bhasin reiterated that these intimidating tactics would not silence the newspaper.
Pertinently, in June this year, the Lieutenant Governor's administration in Jammu and Kashmir banned Bhasin's book "Dismantled state: The untold story of Kashmir after 370."
The raid on Kashmir Times comes amid investigations into the now busted ‘white collar’ terror module centred in Faridabad. At least three Kashmiri doctors were arrested, and a fourth drove the Hyundai i10 that exploded near Red Fort.
On Thursday, Jammu and Kashmir Police also launched an extensive search operation across hospitals, clinics, and fertiliser and hardware stores.
Police said that these checks would now become a part of routine vigilance.
