Arrest of Kashmir trader for remarks at meeting condemned

PC, CPI(M) term detention over comment on officials a misuse of power

The Peoples Conference and CPI(M) on Tuesday sought intervention of the J&K Lieutenant Governor and demanded the release of a Ganderbal resident, who remains under arrest since June 10 for his remarks that “he did not expect much from the non-local officers” during a public meeting, chaired by L-G’s adviser Baseer Ahmad Khan. The police booked Sajad Ahmad Sofi, 50, a local trader from Ganderbal’s Safapora area, under Section 153-A (promoting enmity) for his remarks made in front of Deputy Commissioner Krittika Jyotsna, an IAS officer. Ms. Jyotsna, an officer from Uttar Pradesh, was posted on deputation to J&K on February 8, 2021 along with her husband Rahul Pandey, also of the IAS, who works in the L-G’s office. The police took suo motu cognisance of the remarks wherein Mr. Sofi said he had expectations from Mr. Khan “because he was a Kashmiri”.