The National Investigation Agency on Monday carried out searches at multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district, including a seminary recently declared an “unlawful entity” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Among the locations searched was Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom in the Imam Sahib area of Shopian. The institution was declared an unlawful association by the Jammu and Kashmir administration last month over alleged links to the banned Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir and concerns related to radicalisation and anti-national activities.
The NIA also searched the residence of Shahzada Aurangzeb, identified by officials as a former district chief of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami outfit in Shopian’s Molu Chitragam area.
Raids Conducted Early Morning With Heavy Security Presence
According to sources, NIA teams, accompanied by personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), launched the searches during the early hours of Monday. Authorities have not yet disclosed the exact nature of the case linked to the searches, nor confirmed whether any detentions or seizures were made during the operation. Further details are awaited.
The action comes weeks after the Jammu and Kashmir administration sealed the Siraj-ul-Uloom seminary under provisions of the UAPA. Officials had alleged the institution was being used for activities linked to the banned Jamaat-e-Islami network and claimed intelligence inputs pointed to an environment conducive to radicalisation.
The seminary, which reportedly provided both religious and formal education to hundreds of students, became the first such institution in Jammu and Kashmir to be declared unlawful under Section 8(1) of the UAPA.
The Centre had earlier extended the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir for another five years under the UAPA, citing alleged involvement in separatist and terror-related activities.