JammuThe legislative assembly on Tuesday witnessed uproarious scenes as the opposition targeted the treasury benches over the arrest of a Kashmiri businessman in the 17-year-old Red Fort attack case, and extracted an assurance from the government of a statement in the house over the issue.
In aggressive speeches, NC leader Ali Muhammad Sagar and independent MLA Engineer Abdul Rasheed accused the government of being scared of New Delhi and asked whether the government wanted the businessman, Bilal Ahmad Kawa, hanged like Afzal Guru.
If you are not afraid of New Delhi, Sagar asked the treasury benches, then why are you silent on Bilals detention.
Sagar sought to remind the government of the many cases where arrested Kashmiris were released after long periods of detention when they had been proved innocent by the courts.
He stressed that Kawa had no militant links and should be released.
Rasheed was on his feet as soon as the session began, rolling out a detailed account of how the state police and the CID had given the businessman, Bilal Ahmad Kawa, a clean chit in the case 17 years ago.
He questioned why the Delhi police had not communicated with the government of Jammu and Kashmir even once during the past 17 years if Kawa had really been wanted in the case pertaining to the attack.
Kawa runs a private business, and according to his family, had gone to Delhi for a medical check-up for his high cholesterol levels and other ailments.
He was detained by the Delhi police nearly a week ago under the pretext of his alleged involvement in the militant attack on the Red Fort in 2000, and his family have been on protest ever since demanding his release.
The records reveal that Delhi police has never made any communication with the J&K Police about Bilals involvement, Rasheed said, adding that he (Kawa) had never been an absconder and would frequently travel to Delhi.
The silence of Dehli police for seventeen year is itself proof of his innocence, he said.
Rasheed also lashed out at NC legislators, asking them not to talk of morality and state terrorism in view of what he described as their criminal role in dozens of cases like that of Kawa. NC legislators not to talk of morality and state terrorism and reminded them of their criminal role in dozens of cases like that of Bilal Kawa.
Rasheed, however, was marshalled out of the legislative assembly and vowed to boycott the rest of the session after inviting the ire of the treasury as well as the opposition benches over the issue of illegal appointments since 2008.
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