NIA charge sheet in case involving funding of Hizbul Mujahideen names Mehbooba Mufti for alleged links with militant

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti addresses senior party leaders and workers at her residence in Srinagar on Feburary 22.

In a major development, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has alleged in its supplementary charge sheet that Mehbooba Mufti, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, had spoken to Naveed Babu, a Hizbul Mujahideen militant, on one occasion. Though the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which Mehbooba Mufti heads, is yet to issue a statement on the allegation, the party maintains that its top leadership is being deliberately hounded by national agencies.

“GOI’s tactics to intimidate & browbeat political opponents to make them toe their line has become tediously predictable. They don’t want us to raise questions about its punitive actions & policies. Such short sighted scheming wont work,” Mehbooba Mufti posted on Twitter on March 5.

The NIA supplementary charge sheet was filed in connection with the case relating to Davinder Singh, the arrested former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Superintendent of Police.

The news agency IANS quoted an NIA official as saying: “The name of the former Chief Minister has emerged in the case related to arrested DSP Davinder Singh and HM [Hizbul Mujahideen] militant Naveed Babu.”

According to IANS, the NIA official alleged that Mehbooba Mufti knew Hizb militant Naveed Babu and had even spoken to him once. However, no further details were shared by the official quoted.

The NIA has filed a supplementary charge sheet against three persons, including Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, the PDP youth leader who has been under detention since November 2020. It has accused Parra of being part of a “conspiracy” to raise and transfer funds to Hizbul Mujahideen militants for the procurement of hardware.