Jammu, Nov 20 AK rifle cartridges, pistol rounds and hand-grenade pins, among other items, were recovered during the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of J&K Police raids at the Kashmir Times office at its Residency Road area of Jammu city.
“AK rifle cartridges, pistol rounds and hand-grenade pins, among other items, were recovered during the raids,” official sources told IANS.
SIA raided the Jammu office of the newspaper, alleging that the newspaper was involved in activities against the country.
According to officials, SIA teams examined the newspaper’s premises and computer systems after registering a case against the publication and its promoters. The promoters are likely to be questioned as the investigation proceeds.
Officials said the SIA raided the newspaper’s office in connection with a case alleging that the publication had glorified activities against the country.
Reacting to the SIA raid on the newspaper, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said any action by the investigating agency must be strictly based on evidence of wrongdoing.
“If they have done something wrong, then action should be taken. If they have done wrong, they will face the consequences. But it should not be done just to exert pressure. If you do it only to put pressure, then that will be wrong,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
PDP leader, Iltija Mufti, the daughter of party chief Mehbooba Mufti, said that Kashmir Times had long resisted attempts to silence it.
“Kashmir Times is one of those rare newspapers in Kashmir that not only spoke truth to power but refused to bend or buckle under pressure and intimidation. Raiding their offices under the guise of carrying out anti-national activities is preposterous and reeks of high-handedness,” she said.
The PDP leader added that in Kashmir, every outlet of truth is being choked by invoking the anti-national slur.
“Are we all anti-nationals?” she said.
PDP youth president Aditya Gupta also criticised the raid, invoking the legacy of the newspaper’s founder.
“Shri Ved Bhasin, the founder of Kashmir Times, built one of the boldest voices in J&K -- fearless, truthful, and impossible to silence,” Gupta said.
He said that his daughter Anuradha Bhasin carried that legacy forward with the same grit.
“For decades, the paper exposed some of Kashmir’s biggest stories of human rights abuses, disappearances, governance failures, and major political shifts. Through every threat and every pressure, Kashmir Times stood unshaken,” Gupta said.
--IANS
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