Two prominent clerics from the Kashmir valley were arrested on Thursday and shifted to Jammu, families of the duo said on Thursday.
Official sources confirming the development to The Kashmiriyat said that Maulana Abdul Rashid Dawoodi and Moulana Mushtaq Ahmed Veeri, both residents of Anantnag have been shifted to Jammu after being arrested today morning.
Moulana Abdul Rashid Dawoodi, arguably one of the most popular clerics from the Kashmir valley heads the ‘Tehreek e Sowtul Auliya’ based in Anantnag. The organization Dawoodi heads also runs a seminary in Anantnag. Originally, a resident of Kulgam, the 49-year-old cleric addresses Friday gathering Kabamarg, Anantnag.
“Dawoodi sahab received a call on Thursday morning from the Police. We accompanied him to the Police Station, where we were asked to leave and Dawoodi was detained. We are not aware of any charges against him, as of yet,” Fayaz Ahmed Rizvi, Dawoodi’s close aide told The Kashmiriyat.
Mushtaq Ahmed Veeri, a prominent cleric of ‘Jamiat e Ahl e Hadith,’ who addresses the Friday gathering at Jamia Masjid Ahli Hadith in Sherbagh, Anantnag was booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) back in 2019, too.
Speaking to The Kashmiriyat Mushtaq Ahmed Veeri’s family confirmed his arrest and said that they received a call from the police asking them to bring clothes for the cleric. “After this, he was shifted to Jammu,” the family member said.
He received a call from the police at around 7:30 in the morning, asking him to report to the Police Station, his father said.
“When we reached the Police Station, they confirmed that the duo Dawoodi and Mushtaq Veeri were under arrest. At around 2:30, the duo was shifted to Jammu. As of now, we are not aware of the charges leveled against him,” Mushtaq Veeri’s father told The Kashmiriyat over the phone.
Reports suggest that one more cleric named Abdul Majid Dar Al Madani has also been detained.