Mehbooba Mufti and Iltija Mufti were booked after the PDP’s Article 370 protest in Srinagar. The case sharpens the political and police confrontation over Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and her daughter Iltija Mufti have been booked for allegedly assaulting a police officer during the Peoples Democratic Party’s protest seeking restoration of the region’s special status, officials said on Thursday.
The case has been registered under Sections 132, 121 and 191(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in connection with the protest held on Tuesday.
Officials said four more PDP leaders have also been asked to appear before the police and join the investigation. They added that Iltija Mufti has been summoned to appear before Police Station Kothibagh to join the investigation.
She was hospitalised at a private hospital in Srinagar after claiming she was manhandled by the police, and was discharged late on Wednesday after treatment.
The police claimed that Iltija Mufti physically assaulted an officer while he was carrying out his lawful duties.
“She is further alleged to have grabbed the officer and bitten his forearm, causing a bleeding bite injury,” officials said.
According to the police, the scuffle took place when PDP president Mehbooba Mufti led a sit-in outside the party office on the night of August 4, demanding restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the reading down of Article 370.
“During the course of the protest, a section of the demonstrators allegedly attempted to violate the imposed restrictions by blocking Residency Road and proceeding towards Lal Chowk,” the police said.
The police said the protesters continued to move ahead despite appeals for peace. Iltija Mufti, however, alleged that she was manhandled by the police, and showed injuries on her arms to the media before being taken to hospital.
