The State Investigation Agency has summoned Yashraj Sharma, the in-charge editor of Srinagar-based media house, The Kashmir Walla in connection with a case related to an article published in the magazine in the year 2011.
A summon copy issued in the name of Yashraj Sharma, who has taken the charge of Kashmir Walla’s editorial affairs has asked Sharma to present himself in Jammu before June 02 for “questioning” over the article titled, “The shackles of slavery will break,” written by a Kashmiri writer and was published in the monthly digital magazine ” The Kashmir Walla.”
Pertinently, on 4 February, Pulwama Police arrested Fahad Shah for social media posts “tantamount to glorifying the terrorist activities and causing dent to the image of law enforcing agencies besides causing ill-will & disaffection against the country.”
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Later, on February 26, when he secured bail in the case, he was taken to Imam Sahib police station in Shopian district, after being arrested in a case registered against a report carried by his portal in January 2021.
Subsequently, a week later, on March 05, Shah was granted bail by the Shopian magistrate. And later in the evening, he was arrested by Srinagar police.
Recently the custody of Fahad Shah- the editor of Kashmir Walla, was handed over to the recently formed State Investigating Agency. He was later shifted to Jammu.
The Jammu Kashmir police have stated that Fahad was “Propagating stories in a particular selective narrative which is in line with the ISI/separatist propaganda.”
“Whereas it appears that you are acquainted with the circumstances of the case noted above, which is under investigation at Police Station J1C /S1A, Jammu You are hereby required to appear at Police Station J1C Miran Sahib, Jammu on or before 02-06-2022 for the purpose of answering certain questions related to the case,” the summon issued to Yashraj Sharma accessed by The Kashmiriyat, read.
According to the three paged summon sent to Yashraj Sharma, the article is part of the ongoing operation to build and propagate the false narrative that is essential to sustain the “secessionist-Cum-terrorist campaign” and take it to its “logical” conclusion: break the territorial integrity of the Union of India, by making Jammu Kashmir “secede and annexing it with Pakistan.”
“Guided from across, select anti-India elements within the media, many of whom are on the payroll of ISI have formed media platforms especially digital platforms that are inexpensive but have a wider reach, and screen their connections with and funding from hostile foreign agencies and terrorist and secessionist entities,” the summon read.
“These contaminated and compromised media persons covertly and knowingly are working to construct a false and distorted account of events in Kashmir in pursuit of the overall aim to artificially portray the situation to persuade their audience to believe in and nurture an overarching set of notions: that nothing good can happen and should happen as long as Kashmir is part of India, Indian State by default is brutal, anti-Kashmiri and anti-Muslim Pakistan is not only desirable but feasible,” the summon reads.
In this context, Aala Fazili’s write-up is highly provocative, seditious, and intended to create unrest in Jammu Kashmir. It has brazenly glorified terrorism and abet the gullible youth to take the path of violence. As a consequence, the publication of this article has led to an increase in terrorism and unlawful activities across Jammu Kashmir, the summon read.
“It” has and will motivate many youths to become terrorists and separatists after joining militancy, the SIA summon said.
The SIA also said that during the course of investigation after duly obtaining search warrants from the hon’ble court, searches have been conducted at three places including the residences of author Aala Fazli at Humhama Budgam, the editor in chief Fahad shah at Soura and the office of The Kashmir Walla in Srinagar’s Rajbagh and many digital storage devices have been seized and already been forwarded to forensic lab CERT-IN for data extracrtion, analysis and report.
Fahad Shah has intentionally conspired with the author and published it in the monthly digital magazine thus endorsing the contents of the article, the SIA claimed.
“The owner Cum managers of the digital portal The Kashmir Walla had surreptitiously removed the write up a as a part of destroying evidence even though with technical tools and further corroborated by human witnesses it has been established that the write up was very much there in The Kashmir Walla web portal,” read the summon.
That the accused and editor -in -chief of The Kashmir Walla magazine Peerzada Fahad Shah is a frequent violator of law and has a number of similar cases registered in different police stations in Kashmir FIR No. 70/2020 PS Safakadal, FIR No.06/2021 PS Imam Sahib, FIR No.19/2022 PS Pulwama, the summon read.
“That the accused was already detained under PSA at Distt. Jail Kupwara and arrested in the instant case on 20-05-2022 after receiving the custody transfer orders from the Court of 3rd Additional Sessions Judge Jammu,” the SIA summon said.
The current incharge editor-in -chief of The Kashmir Walla namely Yash Raj Sharma S/O Ramesh Kumar Sharma has been summoned by the agency in this regard.
“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. In the meantime the data retrieval from CERT-1n is also expected and the same can be established from data retrieved from the electronic exhibits seized from both the accused,” the summon further read.
Moreover, the investigation is going on and there are certain aspects that need to be covered and the investigation regarding that is going on, the summon read.
The Agency also expressed apprehensions that if bail is granted to the editor in chief Fahad shah, he can destroy the evidences that link him to the seditious article that appeared in The Kashmir Walla.
“We also have apprehensions that he may flee the country like many other contaminated journalists. Presently, the accused Peerzada Fahad Shah is under Police remand and the other accused Abdul Aala Fazili is under judicial remand at Central Jail Kot Bhalwal, Jammu and in the interest of investigation bail must not be granted to the accused editor in chief of The Kashmir Walla Fahad Shah Son of Peerzaada Nisar Ahmad shah R/o Dawood Colony Aanchar Soura in the instant case,” the SIA summon read.