NIA moves to seize Kashmiri mother’s house on flimsy grounds, court intervenes
Jammu: India’s dreaded National Investigation Agency’s attempt to attach the residential house of a Kashmiri mother in Srinagar has raised serious concerns over the use of draconian laws to target Kashmiri families and deprive them of their property on tenuous grounds.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the NIA sought attachment of a six-marla and 116-square-feet house at Estate Zoonimar, Srinagar, belonging to Shameema, mother of Ahran Rasool Dar alias Tota, in connection with a case registered over a Shala Kadal incident.
The agency moved the plea under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), alleging that the house had been used in connection with unlawful activities. The prosecution relied merely on the alleged recovery of a mat and a mobile phone and claimed that the premises had been used for keeping a weapon and planning the attack.
The NIA also invoked provisions relating to “proceeds of terrorism” and sought attachment of the property while the trial was pending.
The attempt to seize the house is particularly disturbing as the property is registered in the name of Shameema. The move effectively placed the property of a Kashmiri mother at risk despite the absence of any finding that she was involved in any offence.
The case reflects the hardships faced by Kashmiri families under draconian laws, where properties and other assets can come under official action on the basis of allegations against individual family members. Such measures can inflict punishment on relatives who have neither been charged with nor convicted of any offence.
The NIA’s move also raises questions over the manner in which UAPA provisions are being invoked against Kashmiri families and whether legal safeguards protecting property rights are being adequately respected.
The court, however, rejected the NIA’s plea. Special Judge under the NIA Act Prem Sagar held that there was nothing on record to establish that the Srinagar house belonged to Ahran Rasool Dar. The court noted that it stood in his mother Shameema’s name and that she was not an accused in the case, and consequently dismissed the NIA application as devoid of merit.
