The Jammu and Kashmir home department has revoked the stringent Public Safety Act against 26 people who are lodged in various jails in the newly-carved out union territory, officials said on Friday.
This is seen as an attempt by the union territory administration to ease the situation in the region.
These people were picked up and booked under the PSA after the Centre's decision on August 5 last year to revoke special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into two union territories.
Among the released include former Bar Association president Nazir Ahmad Ronga.
In its Public Safety Act dossier, district magistrate Srinagar, had accused Ronga of being affiliated with the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. The charges said that being a lawyer by profession "Ronga had been looking for criminal cases which were sub-judice against the separatists”.
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Ronga has been accused of organising seminars, rallies and formulate various programmes allegedly “aimed at creating large scale law and order problem during the 2008, 2010 and 2016 unrests.”
Ronga is also accused of being vocal against “abolishing Article 370 and 35A of the constitution of India and also against bifurcation of erstwhile J&K State.”
“Your capacity can be gauged from this fact that you were able to convince your electorate to come out and vote in huge numbers during poll boycotts,” the charges say. Under the PSA a person can be detained up to a year without any trial.
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(With agency inputs)
