Jailed separatist leader Altaf Shah dies at AIIMS Delhi

Shah was the son-in-law of the late pro-Pakistan Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. He had been brought to Tihar jail after his arrest in a terror funding case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in July 2017

Jailed separatist leader Altaf Shah, who was lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail in connection with a terror funding case, died at AIIMS in the early hours of Tuesday, prison officials and his family confirmed.

Separatist leader Altaf Shah. (ANI)

Shah, 62, was admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital on September 24, from where he was shifted to AIIMS on the orders of the Delhi high court. A jail spokesperson said, “He was suffering from multiple ailments including suspected cancer. He was in jail number 4.”

Prison officials also denied claims on social media that Shah was not shifted to AIIMS despite the high court’s orders. “He was immediately shifted to AIIMS. All proper medical treatment was provided to him at every stage,” an official said on condition of anonymity.

On September 30, Shah’s daughter Ruwa had tweeted that her father had been diagnosed with acute renal cancer which has metastasised and spread to other parts of his body. On Tuesday morning, she tweeted he had died away at AIIMS.

Shah was the son-in-law of the late pro-Pakistan Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. He had been brought to Tihar jail after his arrest in a terror funding case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in July 2017.