A Srinagar special court on Monday framed charges against a prominent Hurriyat leader and seven others for selling admission seats for medical colleges in Pakistan. The admission racket provided workforce, and money so earned was funnelled to finance terror in Jammu and Kashmir, State Investigation Agency has charged. 

The central government’s recent move, said informed sources, to derecognise degrees obtained from Pakistan medical colleges and universities was also borne out of this concern.

Special judge NIA court, Srinagar, Manjeet Singh Manhas, framed the charges against Hurriyat leader and chairman ‘Salvation Movement’, Mohammad Akbar Bhat alias ‘Zaffar Akbar Bhat’, and seven other residents of Kashmir for committing offences under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Further investigation

SIA probe revealed the admissions in MBBS and other professional courses in Pakistan was given to students who were either close family members or relatives of killed terrorists. It was done on the recommendation of members of Hurriyat and received by their counterparts in Pakistan, the SIA alleged. The idea to offer admisions was to boost morale of the family members of killed terrorists and keep the terror heat on in the valley by infusing new spirits.

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“It was further established during investigation that as a part of larger conspiracy, the accused persons used to motivate the gullible parents of students to apply through recommended consultancies for courses in Pakistan as it would be cost effective in comparison with other South Asian or Middle-Eastern countries.

The parents and students, according to the SIA, often used to get trapped and end up paying huge amounts of money to gain admission for their children in different technical courses, especially MBBS in Pakistan. They also would arrange recommendations letters from Hurriyat leaders and other valid travel documents from Pakistan Embassy in New Delhi to facilitate visit to Pakistan. The students were made to appear in the National Talent Search (NTS) test at the Hurriyat office as a dupe tactic to make them believe they were writing a pre-qualifying test which would lead to their admission in professional colleges in Pakistan, the SIA alleged. 

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