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Sedition case against Masarat: Court rejects bail plea of Alam
KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 4/26/2015 12:48:43 AM
SRINAGAR, Apr 25: A Budgam court today rejected bail application of senior separatist leader Masarat Alam.
“The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Budgam rejected the bail application of Alam. We are yet to receive a detailed order so that we will analyse the grounds on which his bail plea has been rejected,” said Alam’s counsel Shabir Ahmad Bhat.
Alam, 45, arrested last week on charges of waging war against the country and sedition, was booked under Public Safety Act on April 23, and shifted to Kotbhalwal Jail in Jammu.
Alam is facing sedition charges for taking part at a rally in Srinagar on April 15 where some participants allegedly unfurled Pakistani flags and raised slogans. This is the seventh time PSA has been slapped on Alam.
Police had registered a case against Alam, Geelani and several other separatist leaders for provocative activities including hoisting of Pakistani flag.
The separatist leaders have been booked under Sections 121-A (waging war against the country), 124 (Sedition), 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy), 147 (rioting) of Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) and other minor offences.
“During investigation, the video footage of the incident was examined and it was found that the said individual (Masarat Alam) was involved in leading the crowd to raise anti-national slogans and hoist Pak flags. He himself was found raising such slogans and thereby instigating the crowd to follow him,” a police spokesman had said after Bhat was arrested.
“In this rally provocative and seditious slogans were raised by the supporters of the group which were led among others by Masarat Alam. Alam himself instigated the crowd by hoisting anti-national flag and shouting pro-Pak and anti-India slogans,” he charged.
Alam, is an alumni of Tyndale Biscoe and has graduated from Sri Pratap College, Srinagar. He was first arrested in 1990 for being a sympathiser of the armed struggle that had broken out a year ago and remained behind bars until 1996.
Alam has been arrested under the act thrice since his arrest in October 2008.