A delegation of National Conference legislators met Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday to seek the release of individuals detained in the .
After the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in , thousands in Kashmir took to the streets on March 1. Although there has been no official confirmation from the J&K Police on the number of those detained after these protests, NC chief spokesperson and Zadibal MLA, Tavir Sadiq, who led the delegation to the Lok Bhawan in Srinagar on Sunday, estimated that there are “over 200 people detained from across the Valley.”
Sadiq was accompanied by Chadoora MLA Ali Mohammad Dar, Pattan MLA Javaid Riyaz Bedar and Sonawari MLA Hilal Akbar Lone.
After the meeting, Sadiq said, “Spontaneous protests broke out here after the death of Ayatollah Khamenei. Some FIRs have been filed around this in different police stations, and many young men from the areas we represent have been booked.”
The MLAs have urged the L-G to withdraw these FIRs and release those detained, “since they are young and were caught in the spontaneous expression of their grief,” Sadiq said.
After the meeting, the NC delegation said that the L-G, who is in charge of law and order in J&K, gave them an assurance that he would “review” these FIRs and take appropriate action.
NC’s Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi and former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu were also booked by the J&K Police, which accused them of circulating “misleading online content”.
In an effort to restore calm to the region, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also chaired a meeting between the administration, religious leaders and civil society members in Srinagar following protests and clashes in the Union Territory after the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei.
