Premium
This is an archive article published on September 22, 2016

Day after court ‘sets free’ activist Khurram Parvez, J&K govt books him under PSA

The Public Safety Act was slapped against Khurram after the Principal District & Sessions Judge Srinagar Rashid Ali Dar set aside his detention orders and directed police to release him.

Khurram Parvez, Kashmir, Delhi protest, kashmir delhi protest, parvez, kashmir activist arrest, news, latest news, Delhi news, India news, national news The Public Safety Act was slapped against Khurram after the Principal District & Sessions Judge Srinagar Rashid Ali Dar set aside his detention orders and directed police to release him.

A day after a sessions court ordered his release, the Jammu and Kashmir government invoked the Public Safety Act (PSA) against human rights activist Khurram Parvez. He is now being shifted to Kotbalwal jail in Jammu.

Srinagar DC Farooq Ahmad Lone, who booked Khurram under PSA, did not respond to calls. However, J&K government spokesman and Education Minister Nayeem Akhtar said the decision must have been taken by someone in the government. “I am learning it from you… But it must have been taken on merit,” he said.

What else is making news

The Chairperson of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances and programme coordinator of the J&K Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), Khurram was picked up by police on September 15 and put under “preventive detention” because police “apprehended he may cause a breach of peace”.

Story continues below this ad

On Tuesday, the Principal District & Sessions Judge, Srinagar, Rashid Ali Dar had set aside the detention orders and directed the J&K Police to release him. The executive magistrate, a revenue officer, who ordered Khurram’s detention, had invoked Section 107 and 151 of RPC against him. But the court reprimanded him and questioned his knowledge of law.

However, police Wednesday booked him under PSA, which allows police to detain a person without trial for up to six months.

“We have been told that he has been booked under PSA and is being shifted to Kotbalwal jail,” said Zahir-ud-din, a member of JKCCS. “We have been told that government has lodged an FIR against him for ‘activities likely to cause breach of peace and hatred among communities’,” he added.

He said Khurram’s family had written to the DC, asking him not to shift him to Jammu as he is physically challenged. “There was no answer,” he said. Khurram lost one of his legs during a landmine blast in 2004.

Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter. ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Loading Taboola...
Advertisement