Srinagar resident arrested for running objectionable Facebook handle

CIK, a police intelligence wing, has claimed that the accused Showkat Ahmed Dar was spreading negativity and false information through Facebook handle ‘Shaddy Kashmir Dryfruits’ to radicalise the youth of the Valley and beyond by glorifying terrorism and extreme ideologies.

A resident of Srinagar’s Doodh Mohalla (Shalimar), Dar was picked up by the CIK sleuths in a raid on his house. “Acting on credible intelligence, and during the course of social media surveillance, a team of CIK successfully identified and apprehended Dar who was operating the radical social media handle on Facebook and using it to disseminate extremist content with an intention to disturb peace,” a spokesman of the CIK said.

He said that upon receiving input about the online activity, a swift investigation was launched which led to the identification of the person running the “objectionable” handle. Further investigations revealed that Dar was “actively engaged in posting and sharing content aimed at glorifying terrorism, terrorist commanders and inciting anti-national sentiments among young minds,” the spokesman added.

A statement issued by the CIK in Srinagar said that the efforts to track the suspect were initially hindered due to his constant movement and change of locations. “However, a well-coordinated strategy was implemented on ground to apprehend him along with his electronic device”, it said.

The CIK said that a preliminary inspection of the digital devices revealed access to the radical Facebook account, along with incriminating materials, including a video of slain militant commander Zakir Musa and other extremist propaganda. Zakir Rashid Bhat alias Zakir Musa was a close aide of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’s commander Burhan Wani and after splitting from the outfit he became the chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and later declared his allegiance to al-Qaeda. He was killed in a gunfight with the security forces in May 2019.

The CIK claimed that Dar is a history-sheeter in radical activities. It said that he was arrested by Srinagar’s Harwan Police Station in 2019 for his involvement in stone-pelting incidents and in 2022 Cyber Police Station Srinagar detained him for “engaging in the online dissemination of radical content”.

The CIK statement further stated that, on the request of intelligence agencies, all the social media service providers have established special units to monitor the radical propaganda especially in J&K. “The moment any such radical activity is witnessed by their monitoring unit, it is reported to the security agencies immediately,” it said, adding, “These joint actions by security and intelligence agencies in Jammu and Kashmir in coordination with the special monitoring units of social media companies, have been responsible in busting many radical modules and identify potential terrorists.”

It said that Dar’s arrest “highlights the commitment of law enforcement agencies to curb online radicalization and safeguard the youth from extremist influences.” In the recent past, the J&K police and its various intelligence wings have detained or arrested several persons for their alleged involvement in exploiting various social media platforms particularly Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube to spread extremist ideologies. On Tuesday, the CIK pledged to continue with the drive “in the interest of peace.”