First legislator detained under PSA, who is AAP’s lone J&K MLA Mehraj Malik?

Sent to Bhaderwah jail, the 37-year-old Doda MLA was named in 18 FIRs and 16 daily diary (DD) reports at different police stations in Doda district, officials said. They claimed he was increasingly causing a disturbance to public order, especially at a time when the district administration was busy initiating relief measures to people hit by recent heavy rains and flash floods.

Malik has been accused of attacking officials on duty, locking them inside their offices, and abusing and intimidating them in public, officials said, adding that he is also facing charges of abduction.

The imposition of PSA will not affect his membership in the J&K Legislative Assembly since he has not been convicted in any of the cases registered against him so far.

Malik sprung a surprise in the J&K Assembly elections last year, by winning the AAP its first-ever seat in the Union Territory. He bagged the Doda seat in the Jammu region by defeating BJP candidate Gajay Singh Rana by 4,538 votes.

Just months earlier, he had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the Udhampur constituency as an Independent, but finished fourth. This was a particularly tough seat, with Malik up against sitting MP and Union minister Jitendra Singh and Congress heavyweight Chaudhary Lal Singh.

Before last year’s Assembly polls, Malik had in 2020 won the Doda District Development Council (DDC) election from the Kahara constituency.

Soon after joining the AAP in 2013 – a year after finishing his post graduation from Jammu University – Malik had started making ripples by taking up issues of drinking water, electricity, medical facilities, education infrastructure and absenteeism in government offices. The AAP leadership appointed him as the co-chairman of the state party coordination committee in 2022.

In March 2022, in what was seen as the AAP’s show of strength in J&K, Malik led a massive rally from Kahara to Doda town in an attempt to highlight various public issues.

Several local residents say that in the wake of abrogation of Article 370 granting special status to J&K, when many Jammu leaders chose to confine themselves to their homes, Malik used to take to the streets to raise people’s problems.

In 2023, Malik led a demonstration against the eviction drive initiated by the authorities in Jammu’s Bhatindi area. He along with his supporters was held by the police, but released later.

In November 2024, shortly after he was elected to the Assembly, Malik had raised his voice against the detention of 30-year-old social activist Rehmatullah Padder under the PSA in Doda. Malik claimed Padder had been detained for raising sanitation problems in Doda. Calling on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to help ensure Padder’s immediate release, Malik had said, “This young man is detained under PSA today, yesterday he had raised questions on district administration Doda for their failure. This area could not be cleaned but he is arrested now. This is Swatchh Bharat of Modi.”

Earlier this year, in April, Malik made the headlines when he was allegedly assaulted outside the J&K Assembly over remarks he made against former Chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and the BJP.

Following the House’s adjournment, Malik had an altercation with PDP workers over his remarks against Sayeed. After this, Malik took on the BJP for allegedly “remaining silent” on the growing number of liquor shops in J&K under the Centre’s rule in the last 10 years, especially near places of worship. As the argument escalated, Malik fell on a table and it broke. Malik was subsequently escorted into the House by the Watch and Ward staff.

Later, in May, Malik was booked by the police after a woman doctor at a government hospital in Doda accused him of criminal intimidation and gendered abuse. In her complaint, the doctor accused Malik of using social media platforms to publicly issue threats and level “abusive, gendered and derogatory remarks” against her. Malik had been critical of the functioning of hospitals in Doda, even raising this in the J&K Assembly.

After repeatedly criticising the ruling NC, in June this year, Malik withdrew his support to the Omar Abdullah government, citing its “failure” to serve the public over the last nine months it has been in office. Malik accused Abdullah and his government of allegedly failing to deliver, pointing out that “genuine public service required commitment not justification”.

The AAP leader has been outspoken on the floor of the Assembly, from where he has frequently taken on both the J&K government and the BJP-led Centre. During the Budget Session earlier this year, Malik had been highly critical of the Opposition BJP and the PDP, accusing them of alleged “rampant corruption” and causing the downgrade of the erstwhile J&K state to a UT.