Tral shuts over arrest of Hizb District Commander’s sister

Police says she collected Rs 5 Lakh for militants from a man in Dadsar

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 7: For the first time in the last many months, Police have arrested a woman on charges of working as a financial conduit for militants of Hizbul Mujahideen. Tral township in the south Kashmir district of Pulwama today observed shutdown even as demonstrators clashed with Police, described the detainee as innocent and demanded her release.

Authoritative sources revealed to Early Times that a 24-year-old unmarried woman, namely Surraya D/o Ghulam Mohiuddin Dar of Tral was under the Police surveillance ever since she had figured as an “overground activist” of the militants of Hizbul Mujahideen militants last year. The other day only, Police received specific information according to which she had collected a sum of Rs 5 Lakh from a militant financial conduit at Dadsar village on January 5^th. On January 6^th, men from Police Station Tral conducted a raid on her house and got her arrested.

Surraya happens to be the sister of Hizbul Mujahideen’s “District Commander” for Tral, Sajjad Ahmed Dar, who, according to official sources, has been operating as a militant commander for the last several years and continues to be a top wanted militant. When the inmates offered resistance, Police convinced them and also permitted her sister-in-law, Mubeena W/o Tanvir Ahmed Dar, to accompany and stay with her at the Police Station. Last evening, hundreds of residents began protesting Surraya’s arrest with the argument that she was innocent and, as such, had no involvement with her brother’s organization or political ideology.

 Over a thousand people today took to the streets and staged protest against Surrauay’s arrest. They demanded her immediate release from Police lock up. The demonstrators reportedly shouted slogans and enforced shutdown in the township. Some people working at bakery shops complained that the demonstrators meted out to them ‘rude behaviour’ when they refused to shut their shops.

Police and CRPF forced the demonstrators to disperse with baton charge and tearsmoke. Reports said that ding dong clashes continued on the streets for over an hour. However, shopkeepers left for their respective residences and did not turn up back to open their businesses.

SP Awantipore, Mohammad Irshad, confirmed to Early Times that Surraya was under the Police scanner for quite some time. He also confirmed official reports that Surraya had collected Rs 5 Lakh from a man in Dadsar. He said that the matter was under investigation and Police would soon launch a manhunt to arrest the civilian, who, according to SP, was a Hizb financial conduit.

SP said that no money had been recovered or seized on Thursday or Friday. He said it was a routine matter of a woman’s involvement in arranging and distributing money among the militants. “There is proper women Police bandobust at the Police Station but still we have allowed one of her female relatives to stay with her. There’s no question of her release till recovery of the money besides identification and arrest of other members of the Hizb financial chain”, SP Mohammad Irshad said.  He said that Surraya had been arrested under law and FIR No: 5 of 2011 dated 6-1-2011, under sections 17, 21 and 40 (Unlawful Activities Act stood registered against her at the local Police Station.

SP Irshad said that Surraya confessed to her involvement but she maintained in two rounds of her sustained interrogation till late tonight that “an unidentified person” had passed on the money to her and another “unidentified persons” had collected the same from her on Thursday. However, an independent version was not available immediately.

END