NIA arrests separatist leader Shabir Shah in decades-old case

Shabir Ahmad Shah has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with a case dating back nearly three decades involving alleged attacks on police personnel.

Officials said Shah was taken into custody by the agency’s Srinagar unit on Friday evening and later produced before a Delhi court. The court granted a three-day transit remand, allowing investigators to take him to Jammu and Kashmir for further questioning.

The case relates to incidents from 1996, in which Shah is accused of involvement in attacks targeting policemen. Following his arrest, he was presented before the Patiala House Court, which approved the NIA’s request for custody transfer.

The development comes shortly after Shah was granted bail by the Supreme Court of India in a separate terror funding case. The court had taken into account his prolonged incarceration, advanced age and the slow pace of the trial while granting relief. It had also imposed strict conditions, including limits on travel and communication, and mandatory reporting to investigating authorities.

In addition, a Delhi court had granted him bail in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate towards the end of March.

Shah, 74, has spent many years in detention across multiple cases over the decades. In 2017, the NIA named him among several individuals accused of conspiring to raise funds to disturb peace in Jammu and Kashmir, including through activities such as stone-pelting and damage to public property.

The agency has alleged that Shah played a key role in promoting separatist activities, including mobilising public sentiment, supporting militant groups and receiving funds through hawala networks and cross-Line of Control trade channels. According to investigators, these funds were used to support unlawful and militant operations in the region.

The latest arrest marks another chapter in the long-running legal proceedings involving the separatist leader, with further investigation now under way.

With IANS inputs