SRINAGAR: A Kashmiri journalist in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) has been arrested by the Indian police days after he posted a video of family members and relatives raising anti-India slogans after the martyrdom of their kin, during a cordon and search operation (CASO), in Srinagar.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Sajad Gul, a journalism student who has been contributing to various publications and had recently joined The Kashmir Walla as a trainee reporter, was charged under 120B (party to criminal conspiracy), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), and 505B (fear or alarm to the public) sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Gul had posted a video of the protest against the martyrdom of Salim Parray. Parray was martyred on 3rd January during a CASO in Harwan area of Srinagar. After the killing, protests and sloganeering erupted in Parrey’s hometown Hajin in north Kashmir.
Gul was detained in an Indian Army raid on 5 January and was later handed over to the police.
“He was detained by the Indian Army on Wednesday at 10:00 pm and at around midnight we came to know that he is under police custody,” said Gul’s brother. “Today we were informed that the First Investigation Report [FIR] has been lodged against him [Sajad Gul],” he said.
A police officer confirmed to the media that a case has been registered against Gul and he is under custody.
Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President, Mehbooba Mufti, in her tweet, today, while reacting over the arrest of journalist, Sajad Gul, said laws have also been communalised.
She said, “Radicalised groups openly calling for genocide of Muslims are roaming free while Kashmiri journalists, shining a light on state sponsored human rights violations, are jailed. Laws too have been communalized.”
