E-Paper
Kashmir: Separatist leader held for ‘misuse’ of crowd-funded money
Separatist leader Sarjan Barkati, also known as Azadi Chacha, was arrested for orchestrating a fund-raising campaign and raising crores. He is accused of misusing the funds for radical activities in Kashmir.
Separatist leader Sarjan Barkati alias Azadi Chacha was arrested by Kashmir State Investigation Agency on Monday for orchestrating a fund-raising campaign and raising crores.
Police said he was wanted in a case registered in February. “The case pertains to Barkati’s involvement in orchestrating an extensive fund-raising campaign through crowd funding, resulting in the generation of funds amounting to crores. These funds were subsequently misused, involving money laundering and acquisition of undisclosed assets for propagation of radicalism within Kashmir,” police said in a statement.
It added that the separatist leader gained prominence in 2016 following the neutralization of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
“Sarjan Barkati was a central figure in orchestrating large-scale protests, rallies, and clashes with security forces in 2016, for which more than 30 FIRs were registered against him in various police stations of the Valley.”
Police said that the accused raised approximately ₹1.74 crores through crowd funding campaigns.
“These funds were raised for personal gains and a significant portion of the collected funds was allegedly misused for undisclosed purposes, including possible financing of secessionist and terrorist activities. During investigation, SIA has found that Barkati had exploited public sentiment and trust for financial gain and potentially laundered funds from unidentified sources suspected to have links with terrorist organisations.”
Police said a portion of the acquired funds had been deposited in various Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs) under the names of Barkati’s family members, raising questions about the legitimacy of the sources.
