SRINAGAR : Sarjan Ahmad Wagay alias Barkati of South Kashmir has been detained by the State Investigation Agency (SIA), Kashmir for allegedly coordinating a significant crowdsourcing fundraising drive. According to a statement from the agency, Barkati was detained in relation to Case FIR No. 02/2023 of the SIA police station. “The case relates to Barkati’s role in coordinating a significant crowd-funding operation that raised millions of dollars, according to court documents. The misuse of these monies included money laundering and the purchase of undeclared assets for the spread of radicalism in the Kashmir valley, the statement stated.According to the statement, Barkati, also known as “Azadi Chacha,” rose to popularity in 2016 as a result of security forces’ neutralisation of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. “More than 30 FIRs were registered against Sarjan Barkati in various police stations throughout the valley in 2016 for his role in orchestrating large-scale protests, rallies, and clashes with security forces,” the statement read. According to SIA Kashmir, Barkati was able to raise about Rs 1.74 crores through crowdfunding efforts. “These funds were ostensibly raised for personal gains, and a significant portion of the collected funds was allegedly misused for undisclosed purposes, including possible financing of secessionist and terrorist activities,” it was stated. In the course of its inquiry, SIA Kashmir claimed to have discovered that Barkati had not only profited personally from the goodwill and trust of the public, but also possibly laundered money from unnamed sources thought to have ties to terrorist organisations. Additionally, a sizeable percentage of the obtained monies had been deposited in several Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs) under the names of Barkati’s family members, the report noted. This raised doubts about the reliability of the origins and uses of the funds, it added. According to the SIA, Sarjan Barkati’s conduct amounted to a betrayal of the public’s confidence because he allegedly used crowd financing websites and emotional appeals to advance personal and maybe illegal ambitions. The agency argued that Barkati’s actions generated severe concerns about the potential exploitation of such resources for encouraging separatist-terrorist acts in addition to tarnishing the reputation of crowd fundraising.
