PDP president Mehbooba Mufti chastised the central government on Sunday for filing an FIR in connection with the draping of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s body in a Pakistani flag and the alleged chanting of “anti-national” chants following his death.
The Budgam Police Department filed an FIR against unknown individuals under various articles of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code after viewing a video clip of Geelani’s body draped in a Pakistani flag.
The late separatist leader’s assistants, however, withdrew the flag as police rushed in to take over the body.
Geelani, 91, died Wednesday night at his home in this city after a protracted illness. The deceased was laid to rest at a local mosque’s graveyard.
Mehbooba took to Twitter to criticize the filing of the FIR. She tweeted, “Having turned Kashmir into an open-air prison, now even the dead aren’t spared. A family isn’t allowed to mourn & bid a final farewell as per their wishes. Booking Geelani Sahab’s family under UAPA shows GOI’s deep-rooted paranoia & ruthlessness. This is New India’s Naya Kashmir.”
Team News