Jammu, Jan 13: Intensifying its crackdown on social media misuse, in a major and decisive action, the Counter-Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) on Tuesday executed proclamation orders of the NIA court against three absconding accused in a case of “anti-national activity and digital propaganda.”
As per the court’s proclamation order, the seizure of the absconders’ properties would follow if they failed to appear before the court within the stipulated time.
The absconding offenders included Mubeen Ahmad Shah, son of late Ali Muhammad Shah of Buchwara, Srinagar; Aziz-ul-Hassan Ashai alias Tony Ashai, son of Nazir Ahmad Ashai of Dock Wali Colony, Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar, and Rifat Wani, daughter of Ghulam Muhammad Wani of Trehgam, Kupwara.
The proclamation proceeding, according to CIK spokesperson, was carried out in compliance with the orders issued by the “court of Special Judge designated under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act at Srinagar in the areas falling under the jurisdiction of district Srinagar and district Kupwara in connection with FIR No 07/2020, registered under Sections 153-A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) at Police Station CIK.”
The proclamation order of the court has specifically notified that “if the absconding accused fails to appear before the court within the stipulated time, their movable and immovable properties shall be attached strictly in accordance with law.”
The CIK spokesperson said that the case involved grave and serious offences that threatened public order, communal harmony, and national integrity.
“Investigation has conclusively revealed a well-orchestrated conspiracy hatched by unscrupulous anti-social and anti-national elements acting at the behest of secessionist forces operating from within and outside Kashmir,” the spokesperson said.
According to a CIK spokesperson, during the investigation, it surfaced that the “accused deliberately masqueraded as journalists, freelancers, and news portal operators, while in reality were running a covert digital warfare campaign.
“By abusing social media platforms like Facebook, X, and WhatsApp, they systematically created and disseminated fake, motivated, exaggerated, secessionist, and out-of-context content,” the spokesperson said.
The CIK spokesperson said that the calculated objective of this campaign was to “incite street violence, disrupt normal civic life, provoke damage to public property, disturb public order and fuel mass unrest, thereby promoting anti-national sentiments and attempting to create disaffection against the Union of India.”
The CIK reiterated that freedom of expression could not be allowed to be misused as a weapon against the nation and warned that any individual or group attempting to camouflage unlawful, secessionist, or communal activities under the garb of journalism or online activism would face swift, relentless, and legally robust action.
“CIK sends a clear and unequivocal message that those who exploit digital platforms to spread hatred, misinformation, communal disharmony, or anti-national propaganda are under constant surveillance. The law will reach every such offender, there will be no escape, no immunity, and no tolerance for acts that endanger peace, unity, and sovereignty of the nation,” the spokesperson said.
