Jammu: PDP protests registration of FIR against party leaders

The Peoples Democratic Party staged a demonstration here on Monday demanding withdrawal of an FIR against some party leaders, including former MLC Firdous Tak, last week.

Tak and some other party leaders were booked for allegedlyinstigating people after they held a protest near a mosque in Kishtwar districtlast Friday against the reported plans of the Jammu and Kashmir administrationto strengthen the village defence committees (VDCs).

   

“We gathered here to protest the registration of theFIR against party leaders in Kishtwar,” PDP youth leader Parvez Waffa, whowas leading the protest, told reporters. “Our party is against arming ofcivilians, especially belonging to a particular community and subscribing to aparticular ideology.”

Police have started a process to replace 352 VDC members and117 special police officers (SPOs), who are above the age of 60 years. The movecomes after the district was rattled by the killing of BJP state secretary AnilParihar and his brother Ajeet Parihar last November, followed by theassassination of senior RSS leader Chanderkant Sharma and his security guardinside a health centre in April.

Waffa pointed out that the Constitution has given thecitizens of the country a right to highlight their demands by peacefuldemonstrations, alleging the present dispensation in the state was snatchingthis right by registering police cases.

“Tak and his colleagues have come on the roads to raisethe concerns of various sections of the society over the arming of civilians inthe district,” he said and cautioned that the PDP activists would hit theroads across the state if the FIR against the party leaders was not withdrawn.

The VDCs were set up in the mid-1990s with an aim tostrengthen the security of those living in remote and mountainous areas ofDoda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Rajouri, Reasi, Kathua and Poonch districts of theJammu region. The members of these committees not only guard the identifiedvillages along the border, but also the infrastructural installations in andaround them.

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