J&K's Lone AAP MLA, Arrested Under Public Safety Act, Faces 18 Cases

AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, who was booked under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) last week, had 18 cases and daily dairy reports of police registered against him. The Doda district magistrate in the PSA dossier described the MLA as a history sheeter and trying to "assert himself as a self-styled leader".

In all the cases filed against Malik, the common thread is "irresponsible and offensive remarks" made by the MLA against officials and his political opponents.

The 33-page PSA dossier details Malik's involvement in such cases, including using social media platform Facebook to "mount verbal and derogatory attacks on anybody who tries to stand up against his illegal demands and spreading false information to more than two lakh followers". Interestingly, after the PSA and arrest of Malik, his Facebook followers have risen to over 5.45 lakhs.

It's the first time a sitting MLA has been booked under the Public Safety Act in Jammu and Kashmir after it was invoked in the former state in 1978. Under the Public Safety Act, a person can be jailed for up to two years without a trial or prosecution.

Malik has been accused of instigating people in a sensitive region like Doda with no "respect for harmonious coexistence and always behaving inappropriately, causing unrest and violence". The dossier, however, has not cited a single incident of violence in the region triggered by his remarks.

As part of the grounds for invoking the Public Safety Act, the dossier mentions that Malik didn't mend his ways despite legal action and preventive measures were taken against him from time to time. "Instead, the subject has been recorded to incite the public to burn government offices and to act 'as Lashkars like Burhan Wani', to get all illegal demands met through force, threats, heckling, physical assault," reads the dossier.

The MLA has also been accused of "motivating young people to consume drugs to increase their intelligence quotient".

One of the charges against MLA is that he threatened government officials and tried to incite people against the administration during Operation Sindoor. In other cases, he is accused of misbehaving with the election duty staff, holding a public rally without permission, and violating of Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

One FIR talks about the MLA using abusive language against doctors of a medical college in Doda and threatening them.

The dossier also refers to Malik's use of unparliamentary language without mentioning his recent spat with District Magistrate Doda. Recently, Malik, in a social media post, had allegedly abused Harvinder Singh, District Magistrate Doda, over non-payment of rent of a medical facility. Days later, he was booked under the PSA by Mr Singh.

In his order under PSA, the district magistrate said that it is "in the best interest of the society and public order and to deter him ( MLA) from becoming a larger threat to the safety of the public".

The order further reads that "it can be satisfactorily concluded and has become clear that his (MLA) remaining at large will definitely have an adverse impact on the peace and public order in the District, which demands his immediate detention".

Soon after Malik's arrest, there were massive protests in Doda, and the administration had to enforce strict control orders, curfew-like restrictions, and internet shutdown to prevent the flare-up. While many people, including policemen, were injured during clashes, dozens of people, including political workers, were arrested for violating prohibitory orders.

While the BJP has defended the arrest of AAP's lone MLA in J&K, all other political parties have demanded his release. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah termed the arrest as yet another incident that erodes the faith of people in democracy in J&K.