Delhi high court rejects Kashmiri separatist Shabir Ahmad Shah's bail plea
The Delhi high court on Thursday denied bail to Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, who has been jailed in connection with a terror funding case since 2019. 'The present appeal is dismissed,' said a bench of justices Navin Chawla and Shailender Kaur, pronouncing the operative part of the order.
Shah moved the court against a Delhi court's July 2023 order denying him bail. In his plea, Shah said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) did not name him in the main and the first supplementary charge sheet. He said he had been incarcerated for over seven years, and there was no likelihood of the trial concluding soon.
Shah pleaded that he has been in different prisons for 35 years, apart from being under house arrest for a substantial period, without a conviction or charge against him.
In August last year, a Delhi court granted Shah bail in the money laundering matter related to the terror funding case.
The NIA arrested Shah in June 2019 and arraigned him as an accused in the second supplementary charge sheet, alleging he conspired to raise and collect funds for disruptions in Kashmir and played a key role in building a separatist movement. Shah is accused of receiving money through hawala and raising funds through cross-Line of Control trade and fuelling subversive and militant activities.
In May 2022, the Delhi court framed charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code against Shah, another separatist leader, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, and Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali.
On April 9, the high court rejected Khan's bail plea in the same case, saying his release could threaten India's unity, integrity, and security, since he raised funds for terrorist organisations to propagate secessionist activities and create unrest.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Kin back home fear for safety of J&K students stranded in Iran
The Israeli attack over Iran has triggered panic across the student community studying in Iran and their families back in India, including J&K, with the majority of them demanding evacuation from the region. Hundreds of students of Jammu and Kashmir are studying in various universities and educational institutions of Iran and are scared after Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian soil and killed several of its top military leaders, including the chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami. The students said that the attack happened around 3 to 3.30 am during the night triggering chaos and panic. Tabiya Zahra, a 2nd year MBBS student from Kashmir currently studying in Tehran University, said that they were awoken by the sounds during the night which they first thought were thunder strikes. 'We were sleeping when we heard sounds like there were thunder strikes but soon there was chaos. The university authorities told us to go to the basement as these were attacks. Everybody is scared and tension is palpable,' Zahra told HT from Tehran. She said there was panic among the 40 Indian students, majority of them from Kashmir, who were staying in the dormitory she was in. She said that there were hundreds of other international students from India like them studying in various universities of Iran and they want to go home. 'Please evacuate us as soon as possible. There is tension and our families back home are also scared as there is uncertainty. There is also fear that the communication may get snapped as many SIM cards of students are not working any more,' she said. The students said that they were provided emails from the Indian embassy in Iran in which they had to provide the information of individual students. 'So far there has been no forward movement as the air spaces are closed,' she said. Badraan Jeelani, a resident of Srinagar whose sister is doing MBBS in Tehran University, said that they want safe return of their loved ones. 'They were in panic as the blasts happened close to a building near their university. We got to know about the situation at around 4 am. Everybody is worried. We are also in touch with some other parents. We want the Government of India to start some evacuation process so that our loved ones return home safely,' Jeelani said. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) has written to the Union Minister for External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar, seeking urgent intervention for the evacuation of hundreds of Kashmiri students stranded in Iran amid the attacks. The association expressed its concern regarding the dire situation faced by hundreds of Kashmiri students currently studying in Iran, following the unprecedented escalation in hostilities between Iran and Israel. 'This volatile security environment has left thousands of Indian students, the majority of them from Kashmir valley, extremely vulnerable and exposed to immediate danger. These students had travelled to Iran to pursue professional education, particularly MBBS, due to the country's economically viable academic infrastructure. Now, they find themselves in the middle of an active military zone, fearful for their lives,' wrote Nasir Khuehami, national convener of the JKSA. According to Khuehami, there are some 1,500 students from Kashmir studying in Iran. He said many of these students are enrolled in colleges and universities that are situated close to vital military installations and strategic sites while some students are even located in cities where direct Israeli airstrikes have been reported. 'Numerous students have contacted the Indian Embassy in Tehran seeking support, relocation, or evacuation. However, they have not received any reassuring response or concrete information about what the next steps will be. They remain in a state of confusion and despair, with no clarity about evacuation plans, safety protocols, or emergency assistance,' he said. The association requested the Ministry of External Affairs to establish dedicated and responsive communication lines between Indian students in Iran and the Indian Embassy in Tehran. 'We also request the formulation and immediate preparedness of a comprehensive evacuation plan. If the situation continues to escalate or critical infrastructure comes under sustained attack, timely evacuation could be the difference between life and death,' the JKSA said. 'We hope this urgent appeal will receive your immediate and compassionate attention. The students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in Iran are our responsibility. Their safe return home must be a national priority,' it said.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Chennai customs bust hydroponic ganja racket
Chennai: The arrest of two mules in recent weeks has seen the Chennai airport customs bust a reinvented modus operandi of drug smugglers using Sri Lanka as a transit point to bring in high-potent ganja varieties into the country. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On Tuesday, the air intelligence unit (AIU) team, based on intelligence, intercepted a man who arrived from Bangkok, Thailand, via Colombo. When his checked-in baggage was examined, the AIU team found some suspicious looking food packets emitting a strong odour. Six such transparent packets containing green flowering and fruiting tops, weighing 2.8kg, were seized. Testing of the samples using the field drug testing kit confirmed that it was marijuana. It was seized under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Interrogation revealed that the flyer was promised 1.2 lakh if he delivered the contraband in Bengaluru. He had planned to reach Bengaluru by road if not caught at Chennai airport. While he was remanded in judicial custody on Thursday, customs sleuths said the six kg hydroponic ganja seized on May 16 was also smuggled from Thailand via Colombo. The contraband was hidden within 13 sealed packets disguised as 'Ritz toasted chips and multigrain tortilla chips'. Officials suspect that the smugglers might have used Sri Lanka as a transit point to reach Chennai to avoid suspicion since suspected flyers arriving from Bangkok undergo rigorous checking by customs at Chennai airport. "Smugglers bringing drugs via Sri Lanka is not new, but now they have changed the modus operandi since vigilance is tight at Chennai airport," said sources. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Customs sleuths also said that in both incidents, the final destination of the drug was Bengaluru, not Chennai, and they are investigating if the same gang is behind both incidents. Meanwhile, customs sleuths arrested an Indian male passenger who arrived from Thailand on Thursday in possession of 2.4 kg hydroponic weed wrapped in silver foils. The passenger was arrested and remanded in judicial custody. Chennai customs also made another seizure of 1 kg hydroponic ganja that was couriered from Thailand on June 3. Customs officers at the Postal Appraising Department (PAD) checked a package after suspicious results from X-ray scanning and discovered two packets of hydroponic weed, weighing a total of 1.022kg.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Back from Dubai, human trafficker lands in police net
New Delhi: Zakir Daud Khan thought he outsmarted the law after his placement agency was exposed in a human trafficking scandal in 2022, and several colleagues, including one of the owners, were arrested by Economic Offences Wing. Khan fled to Dubai, but his return to India a few weeks ago proved to be his undoing—a routine card transaction alerted the authorities, who swiftly arrested him. Khan's agency allegedly duped innocent people from Delhi, promising them lucrative jobs in the UAE in exchange for exorbitant fees. "Once in the UAE, these individuals were subjected to inhumane conditions, with their passports confiscated, leaving them vulnerable and helpless," said additional commissioner of police (special cell) Pramod Kushwaha. The special cell of Delhi Police arrested Khan, who was declared a proclaimed offender, from Padgha in Maharashtra. Khan was wanted in the case registered under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Arms Act, and a non-bailable warrant was issued against him. The arrest was made possible after Khan's recent activity in a bank account in Padgha was tracked by a special cell team, led by inspector Chandrika Prashad and supervised by ACP Sanjay Dutt. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Rhea Reports Creative Content Services at Rhea Reports rhreareports Learn More Undo Khan evaded arrest since early 2022, and despite efforts by different teams of Delhi Police to trace him, he remained absconding. A reward was declared for information on him. "Khan's involvement in the human trafficking racket dates back to when he started working as an agent for Fiza Placement Pvt Ltd, a company that promised fake overseas employment opportunities to job seekers," said DCP Amit Kaushik. He recruited people through other agents, facilitated their contact with the company, and collected payments in cash, cheques or bank transfers. Khan worked on a partnership basis, receiving a share of the defrauded money. The company, along with its sister concern, ASIATAS Consulting (OPC) Pvt Ltd, targeted people from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar, collecting money from each of them for forged visas, and retained their passports. Over 80 complaints were filed, with victims losing crores of rupees. Khan fled to Dubai after the case was registered but returned to India and was hiding in Bhiwandi in Maharashtra. Police are now working to uncover the extent of Khan's involvement in the human trafficking racket and identify other people who may have been involved. The investigation is on, and police are urging anyone who may have been a victim to come forward. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
