Srinagar (J&K): A young Kashmir-based journalist Yashraj Sharma was on Thursday questioned by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir Police in connection with an anti-terror probe against the Srinagar-based digital magazine 'The Kashmir Walla'.
"He (Yashraj) was questioned for over two hours in Joint Interrogation Centre Jammu after being summoned by the agency (SIA) a few days ago. He was asked to appear today regarding a case (FIR number 01/2022) that has been filed against the magazine for publishing a “seditious” article in 2011," a colleague of Yashraj told ETV Bharat.
He further said, "Yashraj was questioned about the publication of a controversial article in the magazine. Its author, Abdul Aala Fazili, a Ph.D. student at the University of Kashmir, was arrested by the SIA following a raid at his residence in Srinagar on April 17. Questions regarding Yashraj's background were also asked during the questioning."
23-year-old Yashraj is presently working as interim editor of the magazine while the editor Fahad Shah is already in SIA custody. He is a resident of Rajasthan and headed the magazine in 2018. Interestingly, Yashraj was 12 years old when the controversial article titled ‘The Shackles of Slavery Will Break’ was published (on November 6, 2011).
The SIA, in its case against 'The Kashmir Walla' and Aala, has invoked sections 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) and 18 (involvement in terrorist acts) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against the Government of India), 124 (Sedition), 153-B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) of the Indian Penal Code.
On May 30, SIA had told the court the 2011 article has “led to increasing in terrorism and unlawful activities across Jammu and Kashmir.” According to the agency, the article was “highly provocative, seditious and intended to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir” and it was written with the purpose of “abetting the youth to take the path of violence by glorifying terrorism, promoting…false narrative, which is essential to sustain secessionist cum terrorist campaign aimed at breaking the territorial integrity of India”.
The agency has also told the court that Aala has “so far denied having written this write-up and hence the onus of the writing the seditious write-up is on the editor (Fahad Shah).” “It will be clear in the coming weeks about the credibility of the statements made by the accused author and the editor in chief of the Kashmir walla about the authorship of the instant writeup (sic),” the agency told the court.
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