Masrat Alam arrested, booked for waging war against country

Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Apr 17: After pressure from coalition partner, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led Government today arrested hardline Hurriyat Conference (G) leader Masrat Alam Bhat from his residence in Srinagar for hoisting Pakistani flags and raising pro-Pakistan slogans during a rally in Srinagar two days ago.
Police said that Masrat was arrested under an FIR lodged against him and other Hurriyat Conference leaders including hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, two days ago. He was booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for raising pro-Pakistan slogans in a rally organized by Hurriyat Conference leaders to welcome Geelani.
An FIR (No 92/2015) had been registered against Geelani, Bhat, Bashir Ahmad Bhat alias Peer Saifullah and other separatist leaders for provocative activities and hoisting Pakistani flag in Hyderpora.
Masrat was booked under Sections 13 Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting), 341 (causing injury), 336 (attacking Government employee), 427 (mischief causing damage) of RPC. He was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Budgam who remanded him to one week police custody.
Late in the night two more Sections were added to the already registered FIR and he was also booked under Sections 121A (waging war against country) and 124 (Sedition) of RPC.
Masrat and Geelani were placed under house arrest last night to prevent them from leading rallies towards Tral area of South Kashmir.
The arrest came hours ahead of Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s call for a march to Tral area of Pulwama district where two youth were killed in an Army operation on Monday. While the local residents allege that one of the boys was a civilian, the Army is maintaining that they were militants and killed in a gunbattle.
An official statement said here: “On the return of APHC (G) chairman SAS Geelani from Delhi on 14-04-2015, the separatist amalgam organized a rally to receive him. In this rally provocative and seditious slogans were raised by the supporters of the group which were led among others by Masrat Alam, son of Abdul Majeed Bhat resident of Zaindar Mohalla, Srinagar.”
“Masrat Alam himself instigated the crowd by hoisting anti-national flag and shouting pro-Pak and anti-India slogans. Following the incident, a case FIR No. 92/2015 U/S 120-B, 147, 341, 336, 427 RPC and 13 Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was registered in Police Station Budgam and investigation taken up,” the spokesman said.
The official statement said that during the investigation, the video footage of the incident was examined and it was found that the said individual was involved in leading the crowd to raise anti-national slogans and hoist Pak flags. Alam himself was found raising such slogans and thereby instigating the crowd to follow him.
For his seditious activities, Masrat Alam was arrested today on 17-04-2015 in the said FIR and is in Police custody. Further investigations is in process, the spokesman added.
In the meantime, at least 35 people were injured as protests rocked Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid area, Tral and other parts of Kashmir valley.
A police spokesman said that situation remained by and large peaceful across Kashmir valley with the exception of stray incidents of stone pelting reported from Nowhatta, Gojwara, Malarata and Khwaja Bazar in Srinagar and in Tral town. “Three civilians and 21 policemen including a SHO sustained minor injuries”, the spokesman said.
Police fired scores of teargas shells with protesters pelting stones at them soon after Friday prayers in Jamia Masjid area. The stone pelting, teargas shelling and ding dong battles were heaviest after several years in down town area.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led a protest in Jamia Masjid soon after offering Friday prayers. He condemned the killing of two youth in Tral and demanded revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Soon after Mirwaiz left the spot, dozens of youth shouting slogans tried to move towards Nowhatta Chowk but police and paramilitary CRPF stopped them leading to clashes.
Hundreds of people also protested against killing of two youth in Tral leading to clashes despite strict restrictions imposed by the authorities. Three protesters were injured in clashes.
Hundreds of police and paramilitary troopers were deployed across Tral town to prevent any separatist rally.
After Friday prayers, protests broke out in Tral with protesters pelting stones at Police and they in return fired tear smoke shells.
Police intercepted a protest march coming from Dadsara village to Tral near Ameerabad. Police fired teargas shells to disperse the protesters.
Geelani today called for shutdown in Valley on April 18 against killing of a youth in Tral, arrest of Masrat Alam and what he called “biased and provoking coverage by Indian media”.
Meanwhile, Masrat’s spokesman, Rafiq Ganai told Excelsior that he was arrested from his residence at around 8.15 a.m. and was taken to Shaheed Gunj Police Station. He was kept their till 9:30 am and was shifted to JIC Budgam. However, he was later shifted to Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) Humhama from Budgam Police Station.
Masrat said his arrest was nothing new as Jammu and Kashmir is being ruled on the might of power. Raising of Pakistani flags and chanting pro-freedom slogans is nothing new in Jammu and Kashmir. It has been happening since 1947,” he said while being whisked away by Police.

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