J&K: Day after Kathua visit, PDP leader Iltija’s PSOs suspended

Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti criticised the action against her daughter’s personal security officers when no one had been held responsible for Gujjar youngster Makhan Din’s death.

Two personal security officers (PSOs) of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti were placed under suspension on Monday after she managed to reach the house of Makhan Din, a Gujjar youngster who ended his life last week after alleged torture by police over his suspected links with terrorists, in Kathua.

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti had travelled to Kathua on Sunday. (HT file photo)

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.

Makhan Din, 25, from Bilawar area of Kathua ended his life by consuming insecticide at his home on Tuesday 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 Makhan Din’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 Makhan Din in Bilawar. 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. “They aren’t suspending police officers like the Bilawar station house officer, 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”.