SRINAGAR: The grounds for preventive detention of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik’s under the Public Safety Act (PSA) include references to some old cases, some fresh FIRs and statements like he “openly challenges J&K’s accession with India.”
The JKLF chief was detained on February 22 and lodged in Kothibagh police station here. On March 6, he was booked under PSA, which empowers the government to detain a person without a trial for up to six months. He has been shifted to Kotbhalwal jail in Jammu.
The PSA detention dossier prepared by the police and signed by the Srinagar district magistrate cites Malik’s alleged involvement in killing of air force personnel and kidnapping of former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s daughter Rubiya Sayeed in the 90s. These cases are pending with court.
The other grounds of detention, according to the police dossier, are:
- “After the formation of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Malik joined the amalgam and took active part in propagating its programme. However, after developing some differences, he parted ways with the APHC and established a separate organisation under the banner of which disruptive activities are still being carried out”.
- “These serious criminal cases (IAF personnel killing and Rubiya kidnapping), presently at various stages, coupled with Malik’s continued organised attempts to disturb public order reveal that he (Malik) has indulged in such activities as a design and well-crafted plan which clearly is a direct threat to public order”.
- “Malik openly challenges the accession of J&K with the union of India and strives hard for securing secession of the State. From the year 2016 till date he was very much active in sabotaging the peace and public tranquility of the state”.
- “Malik is found involved in cases—FIR number 17/2016 police station Maisuma (arrested and bailed out), FIR number 19/2016 police station Maisuma (yet to be arrested), FIR number20/2016 police station Maisuma (yet to be arrested) FIR number 70/2017 police station Ram Munshibagh (yet to be arrested) and FIR number 22/2018 police station Maisuma (arrested, under custody).
- “From 2017, Malik has continued to remain glued to the anti-national and secessionist activities. You (Malik) have been taken into preventive detention under sections 107, 51 CRPC, 28 times for (162) days and still you could not mend your ways and a reasonable opportunity was provided to you to correct yourself, but you have remained an incorrigible element despite furnishing surety/ personal bonds. Your conduct has remained the same. Breach of bond for good behaviour on several occasions clearly indicates that you are willfully indulging in activities prejudicial to public order and tranquility. Your attempts put the life of civilian at risk directly and indirectly.”
- “Malik is instrumental in constituting the ‘Joint Resistance Leadership’ to portray India as a ‘colonial and occupational force’ by inserting the word ‘resistance’ in it. The JRL frequently imposes a forced shutdown on public establishments, business establishments, educational institutions etc by promoting attacks or mob building which become serious security concern vis-a-vis public order. The forced shutdown calls create an atmosphere of fear psychosis and have a direct bearing on the very idea and concept of freedom enshrined in the Constitution.”
- “Malik played a key role in conceiving and chalking out agitation/hartal calendars to disrupt the life and to trigger law and order disturbances on any pretext. Recently you (Malik) you tried to aggravate the situation by floating Badamibagh chalo call to pit civilians against security forces and to instigate people to attack the legitimate state institutions so that some mishap is done and you and your ilk can derive political mileage out of it. In order to portray state in a bad light, you have conceived programme of candle light marches by acting as a proxy and quisling of enemy country. Your activities are very precarious in the backdrop of forthcoming Parliamentary and Assembly polls coupled with the security scenario in the state.”
Seeking to justify Malik’s preventive detention, the dossier reads:
“Malik’s activities are highly prejudicial to the maintenance of public order and warrant immediate prevention measures to be taken against him to prevent the society from violence, strikes, economic adversity, social indiscipline and unwarranted influence on the youth which has become a cascading effect on triggering public disorder. In order to stop you (Malik) from indulging in above activities, your detention under the provision of PSA at this stage has become imperative as the normal law has not been found sufficient to stop you from indulging in above activities.”