Srinagar: A special court has framed militancy charges against Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra based on a police charge sheet claiming that he was an “asset for Pakistan-based militancy groups” and that his 13-year journey as a journalist and politician from 2007 was a “saga of subterfuge, deceit and double-dealing”.
Jammu and Kashmir politician Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra formally charged with being member of terror group, raising funds for terrorist outfits
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 26, 2021
Parra is a senior PDP leader and close aide of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.
The court had heard arguments on the framing of charges from the defence and the prosecution earlier this month and it allowed framing of charges against Parra, who is alleged to have established a nexus with militants, news agency PTI reported.
He sought support from militants for political gains and reciprocated by providing a range of help which led to militant strikes.
The eight-page order made available on Monday stated that “prima facie there is sufficient evidence against the accused for alleged commission of offences under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Indian Penal Code.”
The special NIA judge charged him with being a member of a “militant group, raising funds for them as well as aiding an outfit”. He was also charged under sections related to “waging of war against the country, spreading disaffection against the government and criminal conspiracy”.
“I have gone through the police report as well as the statements of the witnesses of the prosecution and have applied my mind into the present facts and circumstances levelled in the police report…as well as statements of the witnesses and the digital evidence against the accused, there is sufficient evidence against the accused for alleged commission of offences…,” the judge said in his order.
With the help of five protected witnesses and technical intelligence, the Criminal Investigation Kashmir (CIK), a wing of the CID Department, submitted a charge sheet before the court alleging that Parra was hand in glove with militants to further the agenda of Pakistan-based militant groups and also to ensure that his political adversaries are neutralised.
The 19-page charge sheet, with hundreds of pages of annexures, has given instances of his attempts to eliminate political opponents and to help his party leaders by paying militant groups to swing the electoral battle in his party’s favour.
Meanwhile, his lawyer Shariq Reyaz has denied all these charges and said that he would contest the order against his client.
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