Day after Kathua visit, Iltija’s two PSOs suspended
Iltija’s visit to Kathua on Sunday came a day after she claimed that her mother, Mehbooba Mufti, who is a former chief minister, and she had been placed under house arrest in Srinagar
Two personal security officers (PSOs) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti were placed under suspension on Monday after she managed to reach the house of a 25-year-old Gujjar youngster who ended his life in Kathua last week after alleged torture by police over his suspected links with terrorists.
Iltija’s visit to Kathua on Sunday came a day after she claimed that her mother, Mehbooba Mufti, who is a former chief minister, and she had been placed under house arrest in Srinagar.
The 25-year-old youngster from Billawar area of Kathua ended his life by consuming insecticide at his home on January 4 evening and recorded the act on a video, claiming innocence. He denied any connection with terrorists, prompting separate probes by the police and the local administration.
Mehbooba criticised the action against Iltija’s PSOs when no one had been held responsible for the youngster’s death.
“Ironic and unfair that Iltija’s two PSOs have been suspended for no fault of their own. They were punished simply because Iltija managed to reach Kathua despite being confined to her home like a criminal. Meanwhile, there has been no reported action against those responsible for the deaths of (civilian truck driver) Waseem Mir (who was shot dead for refusing to stop for a security check) in Sopore or youngster in Billawar. The ruling NC government, which came to power promising to ensure security and dignity for the people, remains a silent observer. They are not only shirking from their responsibility but also normalising these unjust and abnormal actions,” Mehbooba wrote on X.
Iltija told reporters on Monday that it took the government just 30 minutes to suspend her PSOs-- Hamid and Basharat. “They aren’t suspending police officers like the Billawar station-house officer (SHO), who has created an atmosphere of fear and is running an extortion racket, or the soldiers who shot at the truck driver in Sopore,” she said, adding that chief minister Omar Abdullah was “seen more in Delhi than found addressing problems in Jammu and Kashmir”.
NC, admn, BJP in cahoots: Iltija
Iltija on Monday accused the National Conference (NC), Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the Centre of being in cahoots at the expense of people of J&K.
“The NC, LG-led administration with police under its control and the BJP in Delhi are in cahoots. That is why I was detained and NC minister Javed Rana was allowed to go to Billawar,” she told the media at the party headquarters in Jammu.
Iltija was detained at the circuit house on Sunday and was not allowed to hold a press conference after she met the family of the 25-year-old youngster who ended his life.
Iltija hit out at the Omar Abdullah-led NC government. “Javed Rana, who visited Billawar, didn’t tell you that police run an extortion racket there. The chief minister doesn’t want to go to Sopore and Billawar. He is having lunches in Delhi with BJP ministers. People are dying here, but he is not here to console them,” she said.
“Families in Billawar told me that Billawar SHO Jatinder Singh runs an extortion racket. He is a very corrupt officer,” she added. She claimed the NC government had turned a blind eye to the two incidents, the youngster’s suicide in Kathua and the killing of a truck driver by the army in Sopore after he allegedly jumped a checkpoint.
“NC, with 50 MLAs, has become a mute spectator. CM, who is busy presenting shawls to BJP ministers in Delhi, has no decency to visit Sopore and Kathua to console families who have lost their members,” she said.
On her detention at the circuit house on Sunday, she said, “I am not a thief. I am speaking the truth. Is speaking the truth a crime? Why are they treating me like a hardened criminal? I traveled 600 km in two days.”
She said that there was no difference between BJP and the NC government. “Nothing has changed on the ground. People who gave 50 MLAs to NC feel cheated,” she said.