Jailed Kashmiri separatist leader and cleric Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, popularly known as Sarjan Barkati, filed nomination papers from the Zainpora Assembly constituency in Shopian district on Tuesday. Barkati, who is in his forties, was the central figure in 2016 protest rallies in south Kashmir, especially in Kulgam and Shopian districts, in the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The protests lasted for more than three months. He was arrested last year in connection with alleged irregularities connected to a fund-raiser. A few months later, his wife too was arrested in the same case. Barkati's daughter Sugraa filed the nomination papers on his behalf. Before leaving her village Reban to file the papers, Sugraa sought villagers’ support for her father. “My father needs your support,” she said. “Maybe baba will be watching this. He will feel hurt that his innocents (children) are alone.” Sugraa raised a few slogans before breaking down. The State Investigation Agency (SIA) arrested Barkati in August 2023, saying, “The case pertains to Barkati’s involvement in orchestrating an extensive fund-raising campaign through crowd-funding, resulting in the generation of funds amounting to crores. These funds were subsequently misused, involving money laundering and acquisition of undisclosed assets for propagation of radicalism within the Kashmir Valley.” Before becoming a household name in the Valley, Barkati was affiliated with the Umamt-e-Islami, a socio-religious organisation founded by Qazi Nisar that is now headed by his son Qazi Yasir. Known for his unique style of sloganeering, Barkati gained instant fame in south Kashmir during the 2016 protests and came to be known as “freedom chacha”. He led most of the rallies in Kulgam and Shopian. The police said it registered 30 cases against him in 2016 in connection with the rallies. The police tried to arrest him on several occasions, but he evaded them. He was arrested in October 2016 and booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA). He was released two years later but again arrested and booked under the PSA. He was then released in November 2022. Given that jailed separatist leader Engineer Rashid registered a massive win in the Lok Sabha elections in Baramulla, defeating former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Peoples Conference president Sajad Lone, a few months ago, Barkati's family also hopes that he will have public sympathy on his side. Like Rashid's son Abrar, whose election campaign revolved around his father's release, Barkati's daughter has also asked people to support him to secure his release.
