Irshad Hussain
On Monday, the former chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu Kashmir and the PDP Chief Ms. Mehbooba Mufti, while addressing the media persons at the party office in Srinagar, urged the government of India for a 19-year-old incarcerated youth Arsalan Sheikh.
Ms. Mufti said that she will seek the intervention of the Home Minister into the matter. “We will write to Home Minister for his intervention,” she said in a presser.
It is pertinent to mention here that Arsalan Feroz a 12th grader, resident of Zaldagar area of old Srinagar, was arrested by NIA (National Investigation Agency) on Friday, on charges of being an operative of ‘TRF’ (The Resistance Front). The family however contested the claims of NIA, stating that Arsalan is an innocent youth.
NIA raided his residence at Zaldagar area of old Srinagar and later arrested him claiming that he was involved in radicalizing, motivating and recruiting youth to join militant outfits. NIA also claimed that they carried a search operation at his residence which led to recovery of several incriminating documents and digital devices.
The NIA, in their statement, added that further investigation in the case continues. They further claimed that 4 accused have been arrested in the case so far.
On Saturday the family members of Arsalan Feroz held a protest in Press Enclave area of Srinagar demanding his release.
The family said that Arsalan was just released in the month of November, after he spent a month in detention, and that Arsalan was a student, who had to miss his 12th class board exams due to the detention.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Arsalaan’s sister told The Kashmiriyat that her father, Feroz Ahmed, suffered a stroke due to the ongoing stress. “On Saturday, at around 4 in the evening, my father suffered a stroke. We immediately rushed him to the hospital, where his condition was stated to be critical,” she said, recalling the incident.
Talking about the deteriorating health of her father due to the stress of his son’s detention, she further said, “The doctors said that he should be kept away from any kind of stress and that if he suffers another stroke, the chances for his survival maybe diminished.”
“My brother is languishing in jail and in the meantime, if something happens to my father, where would my mother and I go?” she said appealing to the authorities to release her incarcerated brother.