Khurram Parvez was in touch with OGWs of terror outfit: NIA

“Parvez was in touch with overground workers of a Pakistan-based banned terror outfit,” an NIA spokesperson said. Sources said he would be brought to Delhi on a transit remand.

Parvez was arrested in Srinagar in connection with a case filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including terror funding. Sources said two places were searched in Kashmir in connection with the case apart from raids in Himachal Pradesh.

An official said more raids were likely to be carried out in the next few days.

Kashmir has seen a spate of arrests by the NIA in the recent past, especially following a spurt in civilian killings by militant groups ahead of Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the Valley last month. Sources said the agency has till date arrested 27 OGWs of various terror organisations in the Valley in the wake of the killings.

On Monday, the NIA raided Parvez’s residence and also carried out searches at the office of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) in Srinagar. Parvez is the programme coordinator of the JKCCS, a federation of human rights groups and individuals working in J&K founded in 2000 by human rights lawyer and activist Parvez Imroz.

While Parvez was initially detained for questioning, the NIA formally arrested him in the evening. The arrest memo says he was arrested in the case, FIR RC-30/2021/NIA/DLI filed on November 6, under IPC Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging, attempting to wage, abetting waging of war against the government), and 121A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by Section 121); and Sections 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy), 18B (recruiting of any person or persons for terrorist act) and 40 (raising funds for a terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Sources said Parvez’s family was informed about his arrest in the evening, and he is likely to be taken to New Delhi on Tuesday. The arrest memo says his brother, Sheikh Shaharyar, was informed about his arrest.

In October last year, the NIA had raided Parvez’s residence and office in Srinagar, along with the residences of several activists and journalists. Following the protests after the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in 2016, Parvez was booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) by the then Mehbooba Mufti-led government.