Centre assures security, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq reaches Delhi to appear before NIA

Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq will appear before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi on Monday after a summon was sent to him a third time on Friday in connection with a 2017 terror funding case.

The separatist leader’s decision to travel to Delhi comes after he was assured that security would be provided to him. After a meeting of the Hurriyat Conference’s executive council on Sunday, it was decided that Mirwaiz would travel to Delhi on Monday and appear before the NIA. In the meeting, it was also decided that some other Hurriyat leaders would accompany Mirwaiz.

Hurriyat spokesman confirmed that Mirwaiz will appear before the NIA on Monday.

“After several pleas to hold the investigation in Srinagar, the NIA has refused to conduct it in Srinagar and has said that it would take care of security. After a meeting, a decision was taken that all the executive members will accompany Mirwaiz to New Delhi for the investigation,” said the spokesman.

Mirwaiz had cited security reasons for skipping the earlier two summons sent by the NIA. The first summon was served to him in March and was asked to appear before the NIA officials on March 11.

In response to the summons, the separatist leader’s counsel had submitted a letter to the NIA citing different reasons which were preventing Mirwaiz Umar Farooq from appearing before the NIA.

“Your attention is invited to some of the distressing comments which have appeared in mainstream print media since the news of his summons to New Delhi. There are open calls for his assassination. Having regard to the comments, merely stating in the notice that security will be provided appears to be perfunctory observation,” Farooq’s counsel Ajaz Ahmad Dhar had said in the letter.