Doda erupted in anger on Tuesday as hundreds of people defied prohibitory orders to protest the detention of Mehraj Malik, the lone AAP MLA in Jammu and Kashmir, forcing police to crack down with lathi-charge and teargas shells.
Malik, slapped with the Public Safety Act (PSA) a day earlier and shifted to Kathua jail, became the rallying point for the surging crowds who shouted slogans demanding his release and accusing the Modi government and Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh of political vendetta.
CRPF and J&K Police personnel were deployed in strength to prevent the situation from further aggravating. Policemen on the public address system announced promulgation of Section 163 BNNS and asked the protestors to disperse. However, the protestors defied the orders and continued to raise slogans against the administration.
The detention of Malik has triggered widespread anger among his supporters. Hundreds of protesters assembled in different parts of the Doda district and tried to march towards key locations. When police attempted to stop them, the situation turned tense, and a scuffle broke out. Protesters allegedly attacked the Station House Officer (SHO) of the area, who, according to officials, was shifted to the GMC Doda for treatment.
It was reported that large groups of protesters later reached Kahra village, considered a stronghold of Malik, and raised slogans in his support. An additional police force was rushed there as people from different villages started reaching there.
Officials said Malik was detained for allegedly disturbing public order, making derogatory remarks against doctors and bureaucrats, and interfering in flood-relief distribution in Doda. A dossier is being prepared to support the action. Malik already faces at least 18 FIRs and 10 Daily Diary reports over various incidents. The latest confrontation stemmed from a protest in the Thathri block over relocating a damaged government health centre to a private building.
The social media has been live since yesterday with several political leaders across the country criticising Malik’s detention.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has strongly criticised detention of Malik under the PSA.
Reacting strongly, Omar Abdullah said that slapping PSA on a sitting legislator raises serious questions about the government’s approach towards democratic institutions. He stressed that Mehraj Malik is not a threat to peace and that any differences regarding his conduct or statements should have been dealt with through democratic and constitutional means.
“Issues concerning an elected representative should be debated and rectified inside the Assembly, not silenced through harsh laws like PSA,” Abdullah remarked.
AAP activists in Jammu and various other places also protested against his detention.
Government employees in Doda had yesterday come out in support of DC Harvinder Singh and accused Malik of using abusive language against the DC and other officers.