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The Delhi High Court has been approached by Syed Ahmad Shakeel and Syed Shahid Yusuf, sons of Syed Salahuddin, the self-styled commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, seeking the restoration of their phone call facility in prison.
The two, who were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a terror funding case involving hawala transactions, are currently lodged in Delhi Prisons and have challenged the reported restrictions imposed by jail authorities. They have contested Delhi Jail Rule 631, which restricts communication facilities for individuals accused in terror-related cases in the interest of public safety and order. The rule allows the Superintendent of Jail to make exceptions on a case-by-case basis with prior approval from the Deputy Inspector General (Range). The lawyer representing them stated that several other accused persons facing trial under terror charges have also moved the High Court, seeking restoration of their phone call facilities, which were allegedly curtailed by jail officials. The bench of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that no one appeared on behalf of the state or respondents and listed the matter for May 22, along with other pending cases. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Syed Ahmad Shakeel, son of Syed Salahuddin, the self-styled commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, in connection with a terror funding case involving hawala transactions in Jammu and Kashmir. He was apprehended on August 30, 2018, from his residence in Ram Bagh, Srinagar, in a joint operation with local police and CRPF. The case, registered in 2011, involves the transfer of funds from Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir to support secessionist and terrorist activities. So far, seven individuals have been chargesheeted. Among them, Ghulam Mohammed Bhat and three others were chargesheeted in 2011, while Syed Shahid Yusuf, another son of Salahuddin, was arrested in 2017 and chargesheeted in 2018 for receiving funds from Hizb-ul-Mujahideen abroad. Shakeel allegedly received money through Western Union from absconding accused Aijaz Ahmad Bhat and was involved in fundraising for the group through cadres in Saudi Arabia. A non-bailable warrant was issued against him after he failed to appear for questioning. He is being brought to Delhi for custodial interrogation and will be produced before the NIA Special Court. Syed Salahuddin, designated as a "global terrorist" by the United States, serves as the supreme commander of the Kashmiri militant group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. (ANI)
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