The Jammu Kashmir police have booked two sons of Late Hurriyat chairman Ashraf Sehrai under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for raising anti-national slogans at the funeral of their father.
According to a report by Srinagar based- The Kashmir Walla, the inspector General of Jammu Kashmir Police confirmed that the siblings have been booked under UAPA, for raising anti-national slogans that attract UAPA.
Identified as Mujahid Ashraf Khan and Rashid Ashraf, the duo was arrested from this residence in the Bhagat area of Srinagar on the 15th day of May.
Family Sources informed The Kashmiriyat that Mujahid who is a postgraduate in Business Administration from Islamic University of Science and Technology in Awantipora returned from Saudi last year in wake of covid 19 that gripped the entire globe.
“Mujahid had been working in a private company in Srinagar after his brother died during an encounter in Srinagar. He had initially decided to return however after the killing of his brother, his father was booked under the Public Safety Act, so he could not return back to his job in Saudi,” the sources said.
They said that Rashid owns a small business in Srinagar. He was taking care of his family along with Mujahid after their father was booked under the Public Safety Act last year.
on 5 May, Mr. Sehrai died of covid 19 in a Jammu hospital during his imprisonment under the Public Safety Act.
Later in the evening, a video of the funeral of Mr. Sehrai went viral on Social media after which his two sons were picked up from their house. The duo have been booked under the 13 Unlawful Activities which allows imprisonment for up to seven years according to the Indian Penal Code.
The Jammu Kashmir Police had earlier arrested two members of Hurriyat led by Geelani for questioning. After their Questiniong, the two brothers were detained.
Pertinently, in July 2020, Ashraf Sehrai was arrested from his residence in Srinagar by the Jammu Kashmir (J&K) Police and was lodged at Udhampur Jail.
In March 2018, the youngest son of Mr. Sehrai, Junaid, went missing from his home in Srinagar after which the family lodged a missing person complaint with Sadder Police Station in Srinagar.
The family, however, made no overtures or appeals for Junaid (then a 26-year-old) to return back home, He was a management graduate and also worked for an e-commerce company. In May Last year, Junaid was killed during an encounter.
Earlier, the former Chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti had said, “PSA is GOI’s go-to method for every problem. The latest example being Ashraf Sehrai’s sons who lost their father in custody due to inadequate medical care & have been arrested under PSA. In the rest of India dead are being ill-treated but in Kashmir, it’s the living who are made to suffer.”
The Jammu Kashmir Police have registered FIR against 20 people who were found involved in raising “pro-freedom and provocative slogans” during the funeral of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chairman Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai on May 6.
A top police said that an FIR had been lodged against 20 people who were raising “pro-freedom and provocative slogans” while taking the body of Sehrai to Tekkipora-Sogam graveyard for burial at around 4 am on May 6.