Prominent Human rights activist, Khurram Parvaiz has been arrested by the National Investigating Agency from his house in Srinagar on Monday.
The family of Khurram associated with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society said that they received an arrest warrant (case 30/2021) in Khurram’s name on Monday evening. “He was taken for questioning by the officials who said they were from the NIA,”
According to the family, his phone, laptop, and a few books have also been seized.
Parvez has been booked under multiple charges which include 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against Government of India) and 121 A (commit offences punishable under Sec 121) of the Indian Penal code.
The NIA has also invoked sections 17 (raising funds for Acts of terrorism), 18 (punishment for conspiracy), 18 B, (punishment for recruiting terrorists) 38 (offence for being associated a terrorist organisation) and 40 (offence for raising funds for terrorist organisation).
Earlier today, The Kashmiriyat reported, The National investigating agency conducted fresh raids in Srinagar on Monday morning.
The office of prominent human rights activist, Khurram Parvaiz, who also heads a faction of the Association of Parents of Disappeared persons was raided in the Amira Kadal area of Srinagar.
In October last year, the NIA raided ten locations in Jammu Kashmir and one in Bengaluru in connection with its inquiry in a fresh “terror funding case”. The ten locations included the house of Khurram Parvaiz.
A Local news agency (KDC) quoted a top Police official as saying, Khurram was questioned at the NIA office at Church Lane in Srinagar under the police jurisdiction of Ram Munshi Bagh and later was formally arrested by the probing agency.
On September 21 2016, Khurram was booked under Public Safety Act after District Magistrate Srinagar in this regard issued an order. His detention courted criticism and condemnation from various rights groups internationally.
He was booked PSA for allegedly inciting people to protest and raise slogans. The High court released him weeks later released him citing unfair grounds for detention. The Court also observed, “It was not specified in the complaint what type of slogans was Parvaiz asking the people to raise.”
A recipient of the 2006 Reebok Human Rights Award, Parvaiz works with the JKCCS which has released extensive reports against the enforced disappearances, illegal detentions, torture, extra-judicial executions, sexual violence, unmarked/mass graves. The organisation also seeks impartial investigations into all cases of human rights abuses, prosecution of perpetrators and justice/reparations to the victims of conflict.