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The Doda district administration on Saturday relaxed restrictions and allowed shops to remain open till 6 PM following protests over the arrest of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
Deputy Commissioner of Doda, Harvinder Singh, said the situation has been peaceful for the last three days, and further decisions will be based on how the situation develops. Speaking to ANI, Harvinder Singh said, "For the last 3 days, we have had a peaceful atmosphere... We also met the civil societies... Wherever people have maintained a peaceful environment, markets have been opened there, and in a few areas, relaxation will be given again in the evening. On that basis, it will be decided what needs to be done further. The district is very peaceful and ready to move towards the developmental site..." Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik, representing Doda constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, was booked under provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978 (PSA) on September 8 on grounds of his activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. The Public Safety Act, a preventive detention law, allows authorities in Jammu & Kashmir to detain individuals without trial for up to two years in certain cases. Earlier in the day, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticised the use of the Public Safety Act (PSA) against AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, calling it a misuse of the law. He said that while there may have been complaints against Malik, using such a harsh law against an elected representative was excessive. Speaking to the reporters, Omar Abdullah said, "Law and order and policing are not part of the elected government's responsibility... Whatever complaints might have been there about the conduct of the MLA, the law that has been used to detain him is absolutely a misuse of the law and an excessive use of force against an elected representative..." (ANI)
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