Geelani close aide might have leaked national secrets to Pakistan
A close aide of Hurriyat's Syed Ali Shah Geelani is suspected of passing on classified information to Pakistan's ISI. Devinder Singh Behal has often been seen raising slogans for 'azadi' of Kashmir and hailing 'martyrdom' of terrorists. The NIA will question him soon. An arrest is also likely. A senior official said Behal might be charged under Section 121 (waging war against the state).
Behal had visited Pakistan 5-6 times
Behal heads the J&K Social Peace Forum and is a member of Hurriyat's legal division. His premises were earlier raided in a terror funding case. Rs. 35L was found in his account, which is "a rather high level of savings for an advocate". According to an NIA source, he has visited Pakistan at least five times, the purposes for which are still being investigated.
Does Behal have a role to play in terror funding?
Last month, the NIA had detained Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Shah along with two Hurriyat(G) leaders in their probe of terror funding in Kashmir. It also raided properties to gather evidence against separatist leaders and businessmen who allegedly receive funds from the Hafiz Saeed-led JuD and other Pakistan-based outfits. It is examining if Pakistani funds were used to trigger and sustain last year's months-long unrest.
