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Shamas Din Malik, father of detained Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Doda, Mehraj Malik, made an emotional appeal for his son's release who has been detained under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, on grounds that his activities were prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
Speaking to ANI, Malik's father expressed his anguish over the detention, stating that he does not want to be trapped in long legal battles. "The Chief Minister heard us and said he'll see what he can do. I told him, I do not want to keep visiting courts, I want my son back. I don't care about the PSA," he said. According to him, nearly five to six sections of the PSA have been imposed against Mehraj Malik because of the District Commissioner (DC). "I dont care about PSA. The DC must know this better. Around 5-6 sections of the PSA have been imposed on him because of the DC. When an old woman started crying in front of Mehraj, he got angry, and a man can do anything when he is angry," he said. The father highlighted the family's distress, saying that Malik's mother and four daughters are crying since his arrest. He also appealed to AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who was in the region, to intervene. "Sanjay Singh is here, and I will tell him to do something. I don't care about the party, I just want my son back," Shamas Din Malik said. Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh on Wednesday criticised the arrest of party MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA), calling it "unconstitutional". Singh, who arrived in Jammu on Wednesday, said he would meet party leaders in the region and review the next steps. He stated that the party would raise the issue on the "sadak" (streets), in the "sadan" (Parliament), and possibly in the Supreme Court as well. "It is unconstitutional to slap the Public Safety Act (PSA) on Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Doda MLA, Mehraj Malik. This is the government's anti-people mindset that a man was asking for a hospital, you slapped PSA on him," Sanjay Singh told ANI in Jammu. He further alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is targeting AAP leaders. "BJP, the Prime Minister is always after AAP, that is what is happening with us...We will take up this matter strongly, at the street and in Parliament, and we may also approach the Supreme Court," he added. Doda MLA Mehraj Malik was booked under provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978 (PSA) on Monday on grounds of his activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. Preventive detention under the PSA was found necessary in the interest of maintaining public order and safeguarding law and order in the region, according to officials. Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the detention of Mehraj Malik under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), saying that the MLA's detention affects the trust of people in democracy. "I am not able to understand what he did to get detained under such a strict law like the PSA? Was there any incident of stone-pelting? On the contrary, there is no action against those who played with our religious sentiments and spoiled the atmosphere at the Hazratbal Shrine. Only innocents are being harassed. But no action is being taken against those who hurt our religious sentiments," the J-K CM told reporters. (ANI)
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