Srinagar:An NIA special court has extended the detention of human rights activist Khurram Pervez and two others for 50 more days on Friday as the investigating agency claims it is still investigating a "terror funding" case. The other two include Munir Ahmed Kataria and Arshad Ahmed Tonch and the next 50 days is calculated as beginning from March 25, 2022.
"I felt that the investigation was ongoing and the possibility of tampering with the evidence could not be ruled out," Special NIA Judge Parveen Singh said while allowing the agency's request. According to the NIA, the investigation revealed that some of the NIA's official secret documents were shared by accused IPS officer Arvind Digvijay Negi with accused Munir Ahmed Kataria through secret communication channels. It was further said that accused Munir, Khurram and Arshad were taken into police custody and accused Arvind Negi was also taken into police custody.
During interrogation in custody, the accused were repeatedly questioned. A total of 71 confiscated items were sent to CERT-In and 21 digital gadgets to C-DAC Trivandrum for forensic analysis. CERT-In has yet to receive a test of 48 digital devices. The court said: "Considering all these facts and circumstances and the facts stated in the PP report, most of which cannot be disclosed, I think this is a reasonable case and the demand."
"In view of the observation, the period of investigation should be further extended. Accordingly, the petition is approved. The custody of accused Munir Ahmed Kataria, Arshad Ahmed Tonch and Khurram Pervez for investigation has been extended for another 50 days," the court added. The NIA had told the court that the accused Munir Ahmed Chaudhry, Arshad Ahmed Tonch and Jaffer were running a network of Lashkar-e-Taiba overground workers and recruiting people in different states of India.
Defendants' lawyers opposed the NIA's plea, saying it was a clear violation of the defendant's right under Article 21 of the Constitution, and said that when the last extension was granted, the court itself observed that the 90-day can't extend. If the investigating agency speeds up its investigation, the investigation may have been completed earlier.
