A journalist has been arrested from Bandipora district for allegedly engaging in activities “prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and unity of India”, the police here said.
Sajad Ahmad Dar, who works for an online portal, was arrested two days ago, leading to criticism from several quarters. “There is a different set of laws applicable to J&K vis-à-vis rest of India. Radicalised groups openly calling for genocide of Muslims are roaming free while Kashmiri journalists shining a light on state-sponsored human rights violations are jailed. Laws too have been communalised,” PDP president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted.
Dar is presently is on police remand, a police spokesperson said. He operated a Twitter account carrying Sajad Gull as name and was always “propagating” against the government and uploading tweets without facts in order to provoke people against government to spread animosity, the spokesperson said.
The journalist during an anti-encroachment drive carried out by the revenue department last year in his village had instigated locals against the drive, the spokesperson said. Officials were restrained in discharging their “legitimate official duties” as result of his actions, the spokesperson added.
In another case, the J&K police have booked a UK-based man of Kashmiri origin under the UAPA for allegedly carrying out anti-national activities on social media. A complaint was also lodged by an advocate here against Muzammil Ayyub Thakur for threatening him in public and on social media, a police spokesperson said.
“On Thursday, Kothibagh police station reliably learnt that Thakur, through his social media account and other platforms, is indulging in activities which are prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and unity of India,” the spokesperson said. He said Thakur, who heads the World Kashmiri Freedom Movement (WKFM), was creating fear and alarm among the masses and inciting them to commit offences which are likely to disturb public order.