NIA Attaches 392 Properties of Terrorists, Gangsters, Naxalites in Last Four Years

Maximum properties were attached in Ranchi, followed by Jammu and Chandigarh. A senior government official told ETV Bharat that properties of terrorist leaders, terror groups, gangsters, Naxalites and individual terrorists were attached for their involvement in anti-India activities, reports ETV Bharat’s Gautam Debroy.

New Delhi:The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has attached a total of 392 properties belonging to the terrorists, gangsters, Naxalites and other individuals involved in anti-India activities in the last four years. According to government statistics, the highest property (206) was attached in Ranchi, followed by 99 properties in Jammu and 33 properties in Chandigarh.

“The properties belong to the terrorists, terror groups, gangsters, Naxalites, individual terrorists. However, we are yet to count the exact costs of properties,” said a senior official aware of the matter to ETV Bharat.

As per records, the NIA attached 33 properties from 2019 till date in Chandigarh, three in Chennai, four in Hyderabad, five in Mumbai, 19 in Kochi, one in Lucknow and 22 properties of gangsters and individuals inimical to India’s security in New Delhi.

The government has also confiscated two properties in Chandigarh, one in Jammu and eight in Kochi. Meanwhile, the agency has attached as many as seven immovable properties of a top terrorist belonging to the banned Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist organisation.

Official sources said that terrorist Sartaj Ahmed Mantoo’s properties, including land measuring 19 Marlas & 84 Sq ft at Kisarigam in Pulwama district of Kashmir, were attached on Wednesday under Section 33 (1) of UA (P) Act, 1967, on the orders of NIA Special Court, Jammu.

Sartaj was arrested on January 31, 2020, and several arms, ammunition and explosives were recovered from his possession. He was charge-sheeted on July 27, 2020, and is currently facing trial under relevant Sections of Arms Act, IPC, Explosive Substances Act, UA (P) Act and Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933.

The official said that, along with his five co-accused members of JeM, he was involved in transporting newly infiltrated terrorists to the Kashmir Valley. Three terrorists were killed and arms, ammunition and explosives were also seized in the case (RC-02/2020/NIA/JMU), related to a conspiracy to unleash terror attacks on security forces/apparatus as part of an anti-India agenda.

As per NIA records, since its formation in 2000 by Maulana Masood Azhar, JeM has carried out several terrorist attacks in India, including Jammu & Kashmir.

The JeM was enlisted as a “Designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation” by the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSC) 1267 and the group’s leader Maulana Masood Azhar was designated as a "Global Terrorist" in 2019 by the UNSC.

Significantly, the anti-terror agency had recently attached six immovable properties of another top militant of JeM in Kashmir as part of its crackdown on terror operatives in Jammu & Kashmir.