Yasin Malik denied permission to protest

The Delhi Police on Thursday ‘advised’ separatist leader Yasin Malik against sitting on a proposed hunger strike at central Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

The Delhi Police on Thursday ‘advised’ separatist leader Yasin Malik against sitting on a proposed hunger strike at central Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

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Sources said Malik, the leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), had been denied permission based on concerns about his own safety and security.

Malik had proposed to sit on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar to demand access to the mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat, both of whom were hanged to death in west Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

“Permission to sit on hunger strike has been denied to Malik as intelligence inputs indicate both a law and order contingency as well as a threat to his personal security there,” said a senior Delhi Police officer.While Bhat had been hanged in 1984, Guru had been sent to the gallows on February 9 earlier this year after his mercy petition was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee. Both their mortal remains were buried within the confines of Tihar.

A statement issued by the separatist group earlier had stated, “The proposed hunger strike by Malik in Delhi is also aimed at highlighting the plight of thousands who are languishing in various jails, despite release orders from courts.” Malik was released on April 15 after a 35-day-long spell of house detention.