Srinagar, Oct 19: A day after police arrested Hurriyat Conference (G) general secretary Masrat Alam, he was presented before a local court here on Tuesday.
After Masrat, donning a Khan suit, stepped down from a police vehicle in the Saddar court premises, at least his one hundred followers gathered as a gesture of support for their leader.
SDPO Nehru Park presented him before the court of Forest Magistrate Masarat Roohi. Masrat, who was represented by a team of five lawyers, was sent by court for five days police remand at Police Station Harwan.
Masrat has been booked under Section 13 Unlawful Activities Act and 121 RPC under FIR 59/2010 in police station Harwan. Court directed the police that Masrat should be allowed to meet his family members and provided medical treatment.
Masrat recorded his statement before the court and submitted that he was not interrogated by the police. However, he was quick to add that he was taken to SOG headquarters here. Masrat’s counsels prayed before the court that their client should not be taken to SOG headquarters and provided adequate medical treatment. Court directed the police to get Masrat examined by a specialist doctor.
 Police on Monday arrested Masrat from city outskirts here during a raid at his maternal uncle’s house at Wagund Tailbal.
 Police sees Alam’s arrest as a big achievement. They expect it would pave the way for restoration of normalcy in the Valley which has been witnessing frequent shutdowns and curfews for the past four months.
 Alam was released on June 8 this year on bail after 21 months of detention. During this time he was detained under Public Safety Act seven times.
 On June 25, Alam as chairman of Muslim League and general secretary of Hurriyat (G) launched the ‘Quit Jammu and Kashmir Movement’ when Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani was under arrest. On the same day he issued the first protest calendar and continued with the practice till Geelani was released in August.
 He released two video statements during the past 5 months urging people “to take the ongoing movement to its logical conclusion.”  He reportedly carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head.
 A characteristic Alam moment came during massive pro-freedom demonstrations in 2008, sparked by the Amarnath land row. He devised the ‘Ragda:’ a dance in which people formed circles, stood shoulder-to-shoulder, and stomped their feet shouting anti-India slogans. It came to be known as the resistance dance and the entire summer movement as Ragda-2008.
 This year Alam coined the slogan “Go India Go Back”, appeared in a CD urging the armed forces to leave Kashmir and asked youth to use alternate forms of resistance like graffiti.
 Alam has been jailed for more than 10 years on charges ranging from “breaking the Hurriyat Conference” in 2004 to “uniting the Hurriyat Conference” during the 2008 uprising. Both the times the dossier accused him of acting against national interest.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 IST