The Jammu and Kashmir administration booked National Conference (NC) leader Hilal Ahmad Lone, who was among hundreds of people detained ahead of the nullification of the Constitution’s Article 370 in August, under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) that allows detention for up to two-year without trial, officials said on Monday.
Lone is the seventh politician to have been booked under the PSA since Thursday. The politicians include former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.
Lone was arrested in August and was first lodged at a hotel in Srinagar. He was then shifted to a legislators’ hostel and booked under the PSA on Sunday. Lone’s father and Baramulla MP, Akbar Lone, said, “We are definitely going to challenge the slapping of the PSA on my son.’’
The administration cited Abdullah’s ability to “garner votes even during the peak of militancy and poll boycotts” while it blamed Mufti for inciting violence, promoting separatism and making anti-national statements during detention.