Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, along with two senior leaders from NC and its arch-rival PDP, were booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) on Thursday, in Srinagar.
Abdullah and Mufti were among the 50 political leaders who were detained after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, under sections 107 and 155 of CrPC, on August 5, 2019.
Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti confirmed to THE WEEK that her mother has been booked under PSA. “Yes, she has received the order from deputy commissioner, Srinagar, informing her of being booked under PSA,” Iltja said.
Sources said that the two former chief ministers have been booked under the PSA for three months, which can be extended if the government decides to.
That their detention was unlikely to end had become clear when Prime Minister Narendra Modi today slammed them for having made highly provocative statements prior to the abrogation of Article 370.
Mufti, too, was shifted to a government building on M.A. Road in Srinagar from a guest house at Chashmashahi. Abdullah continues to be detained in Hari Niwas at Tali Manzil in Srinagar.
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Earlier, National Conference general secretary and former minister Ali Mohammed Sagar was served with a PSA notice public order by the authorities. Senior PDP leader Sartaj Madani, too, was booked under the PSA. Madani is the maternal uncle of Mehbooba Mufti.
Both Sagar and Madani were detained in the aftermath of August 5 crackdown by the Centre on politicians following abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state, besides its bifurcation into two union territories. They were lodged in Centaur hotel in Srinagar, which was declared a sub-jail. They were shifted to MLA hostel in November after the onset of winter.
Their six-month preventive custody was to end on Thursday.
According to sources, “being prejudiced to maintaining peace and raising voice against the vision of India and abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A” were cited as the ground to book Sagar under PSA. The dossier against Sagar also read, “He was involved in instigating youth, especially party workers, against the Government of India’s decisions. His capacity to disturb the public order can be gauged from the fact that he succeeded in mobilising voters at the peak of militancy and poll boycotts. He also led a rally in Khansahab area of Budgam where he spoke against GoI’s policies and decisions.”
The dossier on Madani, on the other hand, said he played a “pivotal role” during the alleged rape and murder of sisters-in-law Asiya and Nelofar in 2009.
“He played a vital role in mobilising anti-social elements. He was also involved in provoking people to come on to the streets and actively support separatists and propagate secession of J&K from the Union of India, especially, after Afzal Guru’s hanging,” read the dossier.
Earlier, the officials had said that former NC legislator Bashir Ahmed Veeri was also booked under the PSA but later it turned out that he had been released.
(With PTI inputs)
