Kishtwar: Kot Balwal Jail authorities have released the 70 year old person who had been detained under Public Safety Act for his alleged involvement in Kishtwar Communal violence that engulfed the town on 9th of August 2013.
PSA was slapped on Abdul Qayoom, son of Assadullah Mattoo of Omar Mohalla Kishtwar on August 10 last year by District Magistrate Kishtwar. The detention was challenged by the counsel of the accused Advocate Shafkat before the High Court Jammu, citing that neither District Magistrate nor the Divisional Commissioner can issue the orders of detention at random or for the period of 24 months.
Qayoom has been detained in two acts simultaneously which is wrong as per the provisions of the PSA. A person can be detained under this law either on the ground of being a threat to the security of the state, disturbing public order or smuggling timber etc, advocate Shafkat told CNS.
The magistrate has also out-stepped by ordering detention of Qayoom for 24months. The fixation of the period of detention is the domain of the advisory boards which have been relegated to the position of non-entity by the detaining authorities, he said.
Advocate Shafkat sought a compensation of Rs 10 for the victim after which High Court the accused was released.
Ironically, on the day of the release of Abdul Qayoom December 2 last year, police rearrested him on the same charges and slapped another PSA for the period of 24 month, Advocate Shafkat said adding that after apprising the Chief Judicial Magistrate about the development, the Court sought a status report from the Jail Superintendent Kot Balwal.
The Jail Superintendent Kot Balwal informed the court the detention order of Abdul Qayoom has not been confirmed yet and they are waiting for the directions of Advisory Board. The Court rapped the jail authorities for detaining Qayoom illegally and ironically without waiting for the next hearing, the jail authorities released him on May 5, Advocate Shafkat said.
He said that he is hopeful that Court would pass directions to the authorities asking them to compensate Abdul Qayoom. The petition with regard to compensation vide number 34/2013 is pending in Jammu High Court for which the next date of hearing has been fixed on May 24 this month, he said.
Qayoom had been implicated in almost a dozen cases. The case FIR number 150/2013 sections 436, 435, 332, 336, 147, 148, 149 of RPC had been leveled against him in the Police Station Kishtwar. A spree of arrests and detentions followed the gory episode of violence but there was a common refrain among the members of a particular community that the police action was selective. There is video footage about Sunil Parihar firing from his car during the communal clashes. But till this day police have not initiated any against Parihar, who is the regional leader of a right-wing Hindu political party.
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