A PhD scholar from the University of Kashmir was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir's State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Sunday, April 17, for an alleged "highly provocative and seditious" article published in a local news portal and magazine.
The sleuths of SIA conducted searches at the Humhama residence of PhD scholar Abdul Aala Fazili and the residence and office of jailed journalist and editor of local news portal and magazine, The Kashmir Walla, Fahad Shah, who was booked under PSA in March this year, in Srinagar.
Fazili, a BSc Bpharm, Mpharm (Pharmaceutics), is a PhD scholar in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kashmir.
A police official said search teams seized incriminating evidence including material in computers, laptops and other digital equipment. He said the SIA conducted searches in connection with FIR No 01/2022 u/s 13, 18 UA(P) Act read with sections 121, 124, 153 B and 120-B IPC of Police Station JIC (SIA) Jammu, against the author of the article, 'The shackles of slavery will break', Abdul Aala Fazili, the editor and other associates of monthly digital Magazine The Kashmir Wala.
"The article published in The Kashmir Wala is highly provocative, seditious and intended to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir. It was written with the purpose of abetting the youth to take the path of violence by glorifying terrorism. The write-up promoted and propagated the false narrative, which is essential to sustain secessionist-cum-terrorist campaign aimed at breaking the territorial integrity of India," he said.
Fazili's article was published in The Kashmir Walla on November 6, 2011. According to a police official, the article has used prescriptive language with instructional intent, encouraging secessionist elements to carry out terror activities. He said the centre paid Fazili Rs 30,000 per month for five years till March 2021 through UGC MANF (Maulana Azad National Fellowship) so that he can sustain himself and complete his PhD, which entitled him to earn Rs.30,000 per month.
"The repeated reference to freedom and terror outfits' rhetoric in the article makes it amply clear that the article is not merely propaganda. Rather, it is the articulation of Pakistan ISI and the vision of its sponsored terrorist secessionist networks," he added.
The Kashmir Walla, on its website, stated that during the searches, the SIA sleuths seized the laptops of two reporters, a Mac from the multimedia department, six hard drives that had backups and five CDs. "In the raid at Fahad Shah's residence, a laptop of another The Kashmir Walla staffer, who was also there during the searches, a tablet device and a voice recorder were seized," it stated.
