Ex J&K minister now faces case for slapping official

There seems no end to the troubles of Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo.

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There seems no end to the troubles of Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo. He had to resign as Jammu and Kashmirs Minister of State for Home in the wake of the communal riots in Kishtwar early this month,and now the National Conference legislator faces an FIR for assaulting a public servant.

Kishtwar Sessions Judge Pawan Dev Kotwal Monday upheld Chief Judicial Magistrate Ajay Guptas order to the police to register an FIR against Kitchloo for allegedly slapping Riyaz Ahmed Choudhary,Chief Executive Officer of Kishtwar Development Authority,at the Kishtwar Dak Bungalow on April 18. The then minister had slapped him,Choudhary has claimed,because he had kept him waiting for a few minutes.

Kotwal dismissed as not maintainable the polices revision petition against the CJMs June 3 order to the Station House Officer of Kishtwar to register an FIR against Kitchloo. The CJM had rejected the polices status report which claimed that the slapping incident never took place. The report sought by the CJM after Choudhary accused the police of not taking action on his complaint had denied Choudharys claim and instead accused him of concocting the story to save himself from punishment for coming late to duty that day.

Choudharys counsel,however,cited chief minister Omar Abdullahs April 21 statement expressing anguish over the incident and asking Kitchloo to sit with the officer to resolve the matter amicably to support his contention that the polices report was not true.