Daijiworld Media Network – Jammu
Jammu, Nov 21: The State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Thursday carried out extensive raids at the Jammu office of Kashmir Times, one of the region’s oldest English newspapers, as part of an ongoing probe into alleged “criminal conspiracy” and suspected links with secessionist and anti-national groups.
The searches began around 6 am at the publication’s Residency Road office. According to officials, the SIA team allegedly recovered a revolver, 14 empty AK-series cartridge cases, three live AK rounds, four fired bullets, three grenade safety levers and three suspected pistol rounds from the premises.
Owners and editors Anuradha Bhasin and her husband Prabodh Jamwal — currently believed to be in the US — strongly condemned the raids, calling the allegations “unfounded”, “intimidatory” and an “attempt to silence” them.
“We call on authorities to cease this harassment, withdraw these allegations, and respect constitutional guarantees of press freedom,” they said in a joint statement.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary backed the SIA action, stating that such raids are conducted “only when wrongdoing is established and not for the sake of pressure”.
The raid comes days after J&K Police claimed to have busted a terror module operating from Faridabad, arresting at least three doctors from J&K. Another suspect was allegedly driving the car that exploded near Delhi’s Red Fort on November 10, killing nine people.
Kashmir Times, founded in 1954 by veteran journalist Ved Bhasin, stopped its print edition from Jammu and now operates primarily online.
The SIA has listed serious charges against the organisation, including: dissemination of terrorist and secessionist ideology; spreading inflammatory and fabricated narratives; attempting to radicalise youth; inciting separatist sentiments; disturbing public order; and challenging India’s sovereignty through print and digital content.
Sources said the SIA first summoned office manager Sanjeev Kerni to open the premises. Around noon, officials escorted him to the Gandhi Nagar residence of Jamwal, where searches continued for nearly two hours. Ved Bhasin’s daughter, former Cluster University Vice-Chancellor Anju Bhasin, who lives at the address but is currently abroad, was also under the purview of the search.
Investigators said they examined documents, digital devices and other material and may seek to question Anuradha Bhasin as part of the ongoing probe into networks suspected of aiding separatist propaganda.