BuzzBytes
Srinagar, October 17:
The Chief of Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, Mohammad Yousuf Shah alias Syed Salah-ud-Din, has been declared a proclaimed offender by a court in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district in connection with a 2012 case related to anti-national activities and criminal intimidation.
The Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Sopore issued the proclamation after repeated summons went unanswered by Salah-ud-Din, who has been evading Indian law while operating from Pakistan. The order was passed under Section 153-B of the erstwhile Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), which pertains to statements prejudicial to national integration, and Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with criminal intimidation.
According to officials, the case dates back to 2012 when Salah-ud-Din allegedly made provocative and threatening statements aimed at disrupting peace and promoting separatist sentiments in Jammu and Kashmir. The investigation revealed that his remarks were designed to instigate violence and create divisions on religious and regional lines.
Following the declaration, the court has directed law enforcement agencies to initiate necessary proceedings as per law, including the attachment of movable and immovable properties belonging to the proclaimed offender.
Salah-ud-Din, a resident of Soibugh in Budgam district, crossed over to Pakistan in the early 1990s and has since been leading the Hizbul Mujahideen, one of the most active terrorist groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir. He also heads the United Jihad Council (UJC), an umbrella organisation of several Pakistan-based militant outfits.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other central agencies have already listed him as a wanted terrorist for his role in financing and coordinating terror activities in the Kashmir Valley. He was designated a global terrorist by the United States in 2017.
Officials said that declaring Salah-ud-Din a proclaimed offender marks another step in tightening the legal and financial noose around individuals involved in terrorism and anti-India propaganda from across the border.
Security experts believe the move will strengthen ongoing efforts to dismantle terror networks and curb cross-border radicalisation efforts targeting the youth of Jammu and Kashmir.
