Clashes broke out between police and protesters in Jammu’s Chenab Valley on Tuesday as thousands took to the streets for the second consecutive day against the arrest of Doda MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah alleged that lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha’s administration was punishing rivals while sparing a BJP leader accused of hurting the sentiments of Muslims. These are the biggest anti-government protests in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Tensions flared up as an elderly Doda resident, Abdul Gani, claimed that his ailing two-month-old granddaughter died on a roadside after the police refused to allow his vehicle to travel to the hospital. Gani said his son, a labourer in Punjab, had hired a cab in their remote village to take the little girl to a hospital in Doda, but faced obstacles at several places.
“(She died) because policemen did not allow us to go to the hospital,” the grandfather told reporters at a hospital in Doda district.
Gani said he pleaded with the police and armymen deployed on the road, but they told him that there were directions from Doda deputy commissioner Harvinder Singh not to allow any vehicle to go that way. “I fell on their feet, put my cap on their feet,” the weeping grandfather said, adding that they did not allow the car to pass.
The authorities had put restrictions on travel to prevent people from participating in protests against AAP MLA Malik’s arrest, but despite that, thousands hit the streets.
Videos showed a mob throwing stones at the police in Dunadi village of Doda when the cops tried to stop them. The police lobbed tear gas shells and resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the protesters. The police also wielded sticks on protesters in Doda, and there are reports of clashes at other places too.
Locals said the police had detained several associates of Malik for staging the
protests. He is the first sitting MLA to be booked under the stringent PSA, which allows detention without trial for up to two years. The arrest came after he allegedly used foul language against the deputy commissioner.
Sources said there were protests against his arrest in Kishtwar and Jammu districts as well. The massive outpouring of support for Malik has added to the worries of the administration, which is battling anger in the Valley against the installation of an inauguration plaque carrying the national emblem at the revered Hazratbal shrine, an act deemed un-Islamic.
Omar said: “What has he (Malik) done to be booked under the PSA? I don’t understand why such a stringent law. What has he done? Was there any breakdown of the situation, or were stones hurled? To the contrary, those who spoiled the situation here (in Kashmir), hurt our religious sentiments, nothing is done there,” he said, referring to BJP leader and waqf chairperson Darakshan Andrabi, who installed the inauguration plaque.