Srinagar, Feb 10: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Monday slapped the Public Safety Act against Hilal Lone for being the “brain child” behind his father National Conference leader Mohammad Akbar Lone’s “seditious and anti-national” statements, officials said.
Hilal Lone, 47, had been under preventive detention since August 05 last year when the Centre announced the nullification of Article 370 and bifurcated it into union territories.
The Deputy Commissioner of Bandipore served him a dossier informing him that he had been booked under the PSA as the union territory administration felt that his release could hamper the law and order situation in north Kashmir, the officials said.
“You being a probable MLA candidate of National Conference are a probable threat to the public peace and tranquility as you belong to the party whose manifesto is to agitate against the abrogation of Article 370, 35-A of Constitution of India,” the two-page detention order said.
It said that “being a poster boy of NC” and son of senior party leader Mohd Akbar Lone of Sonawari locality, he will find it easy to exploit the innocent people and will instigate them to agitate and protest against the abrogation of the special status.
Hilal Lone was accused of threatening the sovereignty of the country over his remarks, made during the campaigning for the parliamentary election last year, that his party will fight “till the last breath” if the special status was withdrawn.
“You acted behind the veil and instigated your works (sic) to get ready against any possible move of abrogation of special status,” the order said.
The PSA order also accused him of impeding the state agencies whenever they acted against “anti-national elements”.
The administration has slapped PSA against several leaders, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, since February 05.
Mohammad Akbar Lone represents north Kashmir’s Baramulla in the Lok Sabha.
