Separatist Masarat slapped with PSA

Mangalore Today News Network

Srinagar, April 24, 2015 DHNS: Just a few days after his re-arrest on the Centre’s intervention, the Jammu and Kashmir government has slapped stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) on hardline separatist leader Masarat Alam Bhat.

Under the PSA, authorities can detain Bhat for a minimum of six months without a trial. Sources said PSA warrants were issued against Masarat on Wednesday evening and executed on Thursday.

District Magistrate Budgam Altaf Ahmad Mir, who heard Masarat’s bail application in a case of sedition and other offences under RPC, confirmed PSA has been slapped on Masarat. On Wednesday, the hearing on Masarat’s bail plea was completed and  the court reserved the order for April 25.

Masarat, who was released by the state last month after spending over four years in jail under PSA, had been arrested on April 15 for alleged offences of sedition, rioting, criminal conspiracy and waging war against the country after he allegedly hoisted Pakistani flag and chanted anti-national slogans during a rally organised for hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

Police confirmed that Masarat has been sent to Kotbalwal jail in Jammu. After the news broke, Geelani called for a strike on Saturday.

“Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed surrendered before New Delhi following a media trial by some Indian TV channels and pressure from Bharatiya Janata Party,” Geelani said.

Release of Masarat on the orders of Sayeed on March 7 had created a furore across the country and had figured in Parliament proceedings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a statement on the floor of the House after opposition parties cornered him over the issue.

Masarat is chairman of Muslim League — a constituent of hardline Hurriyat Conference led by Geelani.  He joined the militancy in the early 1990s and became a commander of the Hizbullah militant outfit. He has been jailed for more than 14 years on various charges