Srinagar, December 21: A day ahead of the counting of votes polled during the maiden DDC polls in Jammu and Kashmir, two senior People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leaders were on Monday taken into custody by the police and shifted to a police station in Anantnag’s Bijbehara town.
One leader was arrested when he was heading for Srinagar from Anantnag, sources said, identifying them as Sartaj Madni and Peer Mansoor Hussain. While the former is uncle of PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and also former Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State, and the later a former legislator.
Mehbooba Mufti termed the arrests “total lawlessness”.
“Madni and Hussain have been arbitrarily detained today on the eve of DDC election results. Every senior police officer here is clueless as it is ‘upar say order’. No rule of law in J&K anymore. It is out and out Gunda Raj,” she tweeted.
Last month, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed Para under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in a case related to suspended Jammu and Kashmir police officer Davinder Singh, who is under the lens for alleged links to militants.
CPI (M) Secretary Ghulm Nabi Malik termed the detention of senior PDP leaders in Anantnag as unwarranted and uncalled for and demanded their immediate release.
“The detentions have come just a day before the results of DDC polls and we consider it sheer political vendetta. Rule of law is being flouted with impunity in Jammu and Kashmir,” the CPI(M) leader said. “The need was to restore democratic rights of people but instead civil liberties are being curtailed which adds to the disillusionment of people,” he added.
