Anantnag: Former Minister of State (MOS) Home and senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Abdul Rehman Veeri and nine others were booked on Saturday for “violating COVID-19 protocols” by organising a rally at Bijbehara town of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
The gathering was held on Saturday at Dara Shikov garden to commemorate the sixth death anniversary of former Chief Minister and party founder Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.
Mufti’s daughter and the party chief Mehbooba Mufti along with several senior party leaders had visited the graveyard to offer prayers and address the workers. Executive Magistrate 1st Class-Bijbehara in a communiqué to SHO Police Station Bijbehara has written that at least 10 persons from PDP organised a large gathering in Bijbehara in complete violation of SOPS and COVID appropriate behavior.
“This may result in the spread of Cocid-19 and other related epidemic,” the communiqué said. Police have been directed to book the organisers of the rally including Abdul Rehman Veeri, Sartaj Madni, Najmu Saqib, Javaid Ahmad Sheikh, Majid Ahmad Khan, Abdul Majeed Rangraiz, Showkat Ahmad Teeli, Mufti Sarwar, Arshid Ahmad Ganie, and Nazir Ahmad Vaid.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has alleged that authorities earlier had disallowed her and the party workers’ entry inside the graveyard of late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.
However, later she was allowed to proceed. Mehbooba had accused the government of “breaking her party into pieces” and said that she was not scared of it (BJP).
She had also taken a pledge from her workers to resist peacefully for the resolution of the Kashmir issue and restoration of the special status of J&K.