Shamas Din Malik, father of detained Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Doda, Mehraj Malik, has made an emotional appeal for his son’s release after he was booked under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, on grounds that his activities were prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
Speaking to the media, Malik’s father voiced his anguish over the detention, saying he does not wish to be trapped in lengthy legal battles. “The Chief Minister heard us and said he’ll see what he can do. I told him, I do not want to keep visiting courts, I want my son back. I don’t care about the PSA,” he said.
According to him, nearly five to six sections of the PSA have been invoked against his son at the instance of the District Commissioner (DC). “I don’t care about PSA. The DC must know this better. Around 5-6 sections of the PSA have been imposed on him because of the DC. When an old woman started crying in front of Mehraj, he got angry, and a man can do anything when he is angry,” he remarked.
He described the family’s distress since Malik’s arrest, saying that his mother and four daughters had been in tears. He also appealed to AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who was in the region, to intervene. “Sanjay Singh is here, and I will tell him to do something. I don’t care about the party, I just want my son back,” Shamas Din Malik said.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh on Wednesday strongly criticised the detention of Mehraj Malik under the PSA, calling it “unconstitutional”. Singh, who arrived in Jammu the same day, said he would consult with party leaders in the region and review the next steps.
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He added that the party would raise the issue “on the sadak (streets), in the sadan (Parliament), and possibly in the Supreme Court as well.”
“It is unconstitutional to slap the Public Safety Act (PSA) on Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Doda MLA, Mehraj Malik. This is the government’s anti-people mindset that a man was asking for a hospital, you slapped PSA on him,” Singh told reporters in Jammu.
He further alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is deliberately targeting AAP leaders. “BJP, the Prime Minister is always after AAP, that is what is happening with us… We will take up this matter strongly, at the street and in Parliament, and we may also approach the Supreme Court,” he said.
Officials said Doda MLA Mehraj Malik was booked under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978 (PSA) on Monday on the grounds of his activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. Preventive detention under the PSA was deemed necessary in the interest of public order and safeguarding law and order in the region.
Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the detention of Malik under the stringent PSA, saying the decision undermines people’s trust in democracy.
“I am not able to understand what he did to get detained under such a strict law like the PSA? Was there any incident of stone-pelting? On the contrary, there is no action against those who played with our religious sentiments and spoiled the atmosphere at the Hazratbal Shrine. Only innocents are being harassed. But no action is being taken against those who hurt our religious sentiments,” the J-K Chief Minister told reporters.
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