New Delhi: The apex court on Friday sought replies from the Centre and Delhi government on a petition filed by the Jammu and Kashmir government seeking the transfer of seven undertrial prisoners lodged in Jammu Jail to Tihar, stating that they are indoctrinating local prisoners.

A bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and M.R. Shah also issued a notice to the Delhi government and asked the J&K counsel to serve a copy of the petition to the seven prisoners to enable them to give their response.

The state wanted Zahid Farooq and six others to be shifted to Tihar jail, New Delhi or to a nearby state. The state said it has received intelligence inp-uts, which showed that these prisoners posed a threat to national security in as much as their involvement in planning and designing terror atta-cks against the citizens in India couldn’t be ruled out.

To execute such nefarious schemes, it is understood that the prisoners and other similarly situated individuals have been mobilising support within the jail premises by influencing inmates.

It is also been reliably learnt that the prisoners have considerable local support and it cannot be ruled out that they may be receiving information, resources as well as other help to carry out terrorist related activities.

It said foreign prisoners like the seven inmates are radicalizing and brainwashing local Kashmiri youth in prison. There is a concentration of prisoners with similar backgrounds and linkages to terrorist organizations in local prisons in the State of J & K. The effect of such radicalization is that the brainwashed local youth who are inmates with these prisoners, are spreading the menace of terrorism and creating sympathisers by influencing, mobilizing against the State and wining over their local contacts on being released or during visitor meetings etc.

It cannot be denied that due to the peculiar political, militancy and infiltration situation prevailing in the State, the locals in the State of Jammu & Kashmir, particularly those are in prisons are more susceptible to being brainwashed and indoctrinated and eventually indulge in such nefarious undesirable activities and taking up arms.

The state has received intelligence inputs that some similarly situated prisoners have affiliations with terror outfits like Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, who have received specialized training in indoctrinating the minds of the other inmates lodged in the prison to turn against the State and its citizens. Such indoctrination is now, unfortunately, being put to perilous use by spreading anti-national sentiments within and outside the prisons and planning attacks sovereignty and integrity of the nation, it said and prayed for the shifting of the seven prisoners.