Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir police Thursday said that four journalists were quizzed in connection with the investigations related to a blog—Kashmirfight@wordpress.com case and they will again be questioned tomorrow while as scrutiny of their gadgets have showed they had numbers of Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
The police also said that the four journalists, whose residences were raided on Wednesday, were in touch with many virtual numbers as well.
Inspector General of Police Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar told KNO that during investigation of FIR 82/2020 Police Station Kothibagh, “credible evidence was found which links the following persons with the mastermind who is behind the blog kashmirfight@wordpress.com.”
“Based on this evidence, search was conducted at four places with search warrant from Special Designated court under NIA Act, Srinagar and some mobiles, laptops and other gadgets were seized on 8th September ,2021,” he said, adding the four journalists are: Mir Hilal S/O Ghulam Ahmed Mir, R/O- Bemina, Journalist- TRTworld.com, Md Shah Abbas S/O Abdul Khaliq Shah, R/O- Yaripora, Anantnag presently at – Rajbagh, freelance journalist Azhar Qadri S/O Farooq Ahmed, R/O Bemina, Journalist- The Tribune and Showkat Motta S/O Abdul Samad Motta R/O- Lalbazar, who was editor-in-chief of The Narrator. Currently working at a wholesale shop.
“All the above four persons were called for questioning and were allowed to go in the evening and have been called again tomorrow,” the IGP said, adding that “Currently scrutiny of electronic gazettes is going on. Various Numbers of Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi have been found. They are also in contact of many virtual numbers.”
The IGP advised all media persons & bodies not to spread false news and don’t interfere unnecessarily in investigation of case by spreading false narrative. “It isn’t an issue of harassing journalists. It is an investigation of an extremely sensitive case. After collection of solid evidences they would be arrested in this case,” the IGP Kashmir said.
Earlier, some journalist bodies condemned the police raid against the four journalists.
In a statement journalist bodies including Journalist Federation of Kashmir (JFK), Kashmir Working Journalists Association (KWJA), Kashmir Press Photographers Association (KPPA), Kashmir Press Club (KPC), Kashmir Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), Kashmir Journalist Association (KJA), Kashmir Video Journalist Association (KVJA) said that the raids by police and paramilitary forces carried out at the respective residences of these journalists is a stark reflection of how authorities in Jammu and Kashmir are targeting journalists.
