SRINAGAR : Justifying more than four-year-long detention of hardliner Hurriyat Conference (HC) leader Masrat Aalam, who was released last evening, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said 2010 summer violence was never repeated again.
Taking micro-blogging sight twitter, the working president of the National Conference (NC) who was unseated in the 2014 elections, said’ To say Alam wasn’t charged is a blatant untruth – he was charged under sections Sec 120 121 (waging war against state). 120-b & 307 also’. ‘I hope DG Rajendra comes forward with the facts of Alam’s detention because a lot of blatant lies are being used to discredit J&K police. Yes, my Govt detained Masarat Alam & we kept him out of circulation. Detention isn’t ideal but difficult situations have to be tackled. Alam was the chief architect of the 2010 protests. It’s not a coincidence that the protests died out AFTER his hard won detention’. Mr Abdullah said ‘The summer of 2010 was never repeated again, not even after Afzal Guru’s execution & a huge reason for that was the absence of Alam. So either Alam has turned a new leaf & done a deal with Mufti Mohd Sayeed or he will go back to organising trouble in he valley. Time will tell. Which ever way, I look at it Alam’s detention saved lives AND allowed a smoother safer pair of elections so I have no regrets at all’.
The former CM said, ‘ One last thing for those insisting on calling Alam a ‘political prisoner’ please check YouTube for his videos & then rush in to judge me. Alam, being considered mastermind of 2010 mass agitation in the Kashmir valley during which more than 120 people, mostly youths, were killed in security force and police firing, was released last night from Baramulla jail. The release follows direction by Chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to police to review cases of all political prisoners against whom there is no criminal cases. Alam was slapped with four PSA since his arrest in October 2010 which were later quashed by the courts. However, he was re-arrested each time by police under the same Act.
(AGENCIES)
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