‘Mentally challenged’ man booked under PSA, claims PDP's Iltija Mufti

Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti on Thursday alleged that a “mentally challenged” man has been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in South Kashmir.

In a post on X on Thursday, she urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Jammu and Kashmir Police to look into such cases.

Taking to social media, Iltija said after the Pahalgam attack, hundreds of young men across Kashmir have been arrested under PSA. “While this may seem like just another grim statistic let me share a tragic case from my constituency in Nowshera, Bijbehara. Shahnawaz booked under the draconian PSA and lodged at Kot Bilwal Jammu is mentally challenged and requires constant psychiatric care.

“Far from being involved in terror activities he probably can’t even perform daily tasks without his mother’s care and supervision. Imagine his fragile state of mind behind iron bars hundreds kms away from home. Is being Kashmiri now enough for us to be locked up and thrown away into a dungeon?,” Iltija wrote on X.

She urged L-G Manoj Sinha and Jammu and Kashmir Police “to look into such cases and release Shahnawaz on humanitarian grounds.”

Anantnag Deputy Commissioner could not be reached for comment.

Iltija, daughter of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, had fought the last year’s assembly elections from South Kashmir’s Srigufwara Bijbehara segment and lost to the National Conference candidate.