Malik booked under PSA, shifted to Kot Bhalwal

Srinagar, Mar 7: Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and one of the three members of the Joint Hurriyat leadership, Yasin Malik was Thursday detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and shifted to the high-security Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu.
Malik was arrested by police in a late night raid on February 22 from his residence and was taken to the Kothibagh Police Station here, where he was kept until Thursday morning when he was shifted to Kot Bhalwal jail.
Later in the day, reports said that Malik will be kept in a separate cell and will not be allowed to interact with other prisoners in Kot Bhalwal prison.
Quoting jail officials, Hindustan Times reported that he will be totally segregated and kept in a cell.
“There will be no preferential treatment at all to him and he will be treated like other prisoners,” the report added.
The high-security jail has 510 prisoners, including 200 Pakistani and local militants, those arrested for throwing stones and detainees under the Public Safety Act, lodged in its 15 blocks.
The CBI had recently filed a petition in the state high court seeking transfer of cases against Malik to Jammu from Srinagar.
The cases, as per reports, related to the alleged kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Home Minister Mufti Sayeed and sister of Mehbooba Mufti and killing of five IAF personnel in 1990.
The CBI’s petition for transferring these cases to Jammu is listed for being heard on March 11. There were indications that the CBI was trying to expedite these high-profile cases that were moving slowly in Srinagar.
Meanwhile, JKLF strongly condemned the “arbitrary” arrest and use of PSA against Malik calling it “a glaring display of frustration by Indian rulers and their abettors in Jammu Kashmir”.
Maisuma, the area near city centre where Malik lives, observed a complete shutdown on Thursday to protest against the slapping of PSA on Malik.
Joint Hurriyat Leadership too has called for a complete shutdown on Friday to protest against the move.
Malik was detained during the crackdown on the banned Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in Kashmir.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers had also raided Malik’s Srinagar residence on February 26.