JAMMU: It was an action long overdue as the police had first booked former Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Dr Mubeen Ahmad Shah under FIR No. 07/2020 of police station Counter Insurgency Kashmir (CIK). But it finally happened on Wednesday when the CIK attached the immovable property of Dr Shah in connection with this FIR.
The operation was carried out by a CIK team headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Nisar Ahmed and District Investigation (DI) East Inspector Rashid Khan, who raided Dr Shah’s residence at Buchwara, Dalgate at Srinagar. During the operation, the CIK attached 12 marlas of land belonging to Dr Shah, son of Late Ali Shah. The property falls under Khasra Nos. 236 and 337 of Estate Buchwara and Survey Nos. 889/703, 595/353 and 888.
Dr. Shah, who served as the KCCI president from 2006 to 2008, has been residing in Malaysia with his family since December 2019, officials said. The attachment proceedings were carried out in the presence of Naib Tehsildar Shah Mohammad Asif.
For a long time, Ashai, one of the three accused has been living in the US while Rifat Wani is reportedly living in Germany. Incidentally, Malaysia has been the preferred choice of many Kashmiri businessmen who have antecedents similar to Dr Shah. Convicted terrorist Asiya Andrabi’s son Muhammad bin Qasim also lives in Malaysia as do many relatives of Andrabi who have shifted to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, England and Malaysia.
Court Issued Proclamation in December 2025
Late in December 2025, an NIA court here has issued a proclamation notice against Dr Shah and two others in a 2020 UAPA case, asking them to appear before it on January 31, 2026. The court has directed accused Shah, Azizul Hassan Ashai (alias Tony Ashai) and a woman Rifat Wani (of Kupwara) to present themselves before it or face stringent action including attachment of property under CrPC Section 83.
During the course of the investigation, it was found that these accused deliberately masqueraded as journalists, freelancers and ran news portals. However, in reality, they all were running a covert digital warfare campaign against India. By abusing social media platforms such as Facebook, X and WhatsApp, they systematically created and disseminated fake, motivated, exaggerated, secessionist and out-of-context content, according to officials.
The calculated objective of their disinformation campaigns was to incite street violence, disrupt normal civic life, provoke damage to public property, disturb public order and fuel mass unrest. They thus were found to be promoting anti-national sentiments and attempting to create disaffection against the Union of India.
The CIK has said that freedom of expression cannot be allowed to be misused as a weapon against the nation. The case was registered under sections 153-A (promoting enmity or hatred between different groups) and 505 (statements conducing public mischief) of the IPC and Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Promoting Secessionist Agenda Against India
The case was registered the case on the basis of credible intelligence inputs revealing a well-orchestrated conspiracy by unscrupulous anti-social and anti-national elements operating at the behest of secessionist forces within and outside the Kashmir, they said.
Investigation revealed that these elements were weaponizing social media platforms to create, upload and circulate fake, motivated, exaggerated, secessionist and out-of-context content. The deliberate objective of this digital misinformation campaign was to “incite street violence, disrupt normal life, damage public property, disturb public order and fuel mass unrest”, thereby promoting anti-national sentiments and advancing a secessionist agenda aimed at creating disaffection against the Union of India.
The accused were found to be actively propagating content prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, spreading false and fabricated narratives with the clear intent of instigating disaffection against the Union of India,” the official said.
