New Delhi: The CID wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has written to Iltija Mufti, daughter of former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, asking her to “pinpoint” the officer who allegedly pressured her to withdraw her petition on passport-related grievances so that “appropriate action can be taken”, ThePrint has learnt.
Iltija had claimed that she was denied a passport after an “adverse report” by J&K Police’s CID department.
At a press conference on 7 April, Iltija alleged that the CID had been pressuring her to refrain from litigating in the J&K High Court on the passport issue. She further claimed that she was being pressured by the CID to withdraw her petition. The J&K Police in its statement issued 8 April had said it would look into the allegations.
In response to the allegation, the CID now wants Iltija to name the officers who pressured her to withdraw her petition.
“Taking cognisance of your allegations, this office thought it proper to hold an inquiry so as to find out the truth behind your claim and identify the delinquent officials (if any), as per your allegations in media,” a 26 April letter by a senior superintendent of police (CID) read.
“We seek your cooperation so as to pinpointedly find out as to where, when and who pressured you to withdraw your petition from the court so that further action as warranted under law could be taken and probe completed as per law…A written statement duly signed by you in the aforementioned context would serve the purpose,” the letter, which ThePrint has seen, further said.
Speaking to ThePrint, Iltija said the letter is just another “intimidation tactic” to threaten her into silence. She added that she is a law-abiding citizen, and the agency must come clean on how she is a threat to national security.
“Everyone in Kashmir is aware of how this agency functions like the Gestapo and harasses people in the name of security verifications and impounding passports, which is a fundamental right,” she said.
“They must come clean on how I am a threat to national security. Why do they refuse to share the adverse report furnished by them under the Official Secrets Act? They are simply misusing and abusing their powers to crush Kashmiris,” she claimed, adding: “I, for one, will not be bullied into submission.”
The letter issued by the CID stated that the preliminary probe conducted so far has “not found any circumstances or evidence which could substantiate the allegations”.
“Given the fact that this organisation has been mandated to verify the character and antecedents of the passport applicants, it is incumbent on this office as an organ of the system in place, to find out the veracity of your statement before the media and probe the allegations so as to meet the principles of natural justice,” it said.
While speaking to ThePrint, Iltija added that the CID should also set up an inquiry to probe their “rogue officers”.
“If they are setting up an inquiry, they should first set one up for the rogue officers in CID who are misusing their powers to lay off innocent civilians from government jobs, reject promotions using security verification as a pretext and harass contractors accused of ambiguous claims like their links to militants,” she said.
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The issue
According to media reports, Iltija Mufti, 35, had applied for a fresh passport on 8 June last year, since her existing one was to expire on 2 January this year. She moved the J&K High Court in February after her application was not cleared.
On 29 March, the CID sought dismissal of her writ petition, telling the high court that her final verification report was forwarded to the department concerned in February, said media reports.
The court, however, directed the Regional Passport Office (RPO) to look into the merits of the case. According to media reports, following this, a letter by the RPO to the additional solicitor general written in April stated that Mufti, who aspires to go abroad for higher studies, had been issued a temporary use-specific passport that is valid from 5 April 2023 to 4 April 2025. She has, however, demanded for a 10-year regular passport.
In March 2021, Mehbooba Mufti and her 80-year-old mother Gulshan Nazir were also reportedly refused passports, citing an “adverse report” against them.
‘99% applications cleared’
The J&K Police had also refuted Iltija’s claims that passport applications of most Kashmiris were being rejected over “adverse inputs”.
In a statement issued on 8 April, it said more than 99 per cent applications have been cleared by the passport office since 2020.
Sharing statistics, the police claimed that in 2020, 99.95 per cent of received passport verifications were cleared — the figures were equally promising in 2021 at 99.68 per cent, and 2022 at 99.61 per cent.
The police also said that security verifications preceding the issue of passports is a “high value public service”.
It further stated that the J&K Police had detected that 54 boys were issued passports without proper verification during 2017-18. These boys went to Pakistan, were taken to terrorist camps, trained in arms, ammunition and explosives, and many of them were then pushed back into J&K through the Line of Control (LoC), it mentioned in its statement.
The statement added that 26 of them died while either crossing or during encounters in the hinterland.
“Lives of 12 of these young boys could be saved by the CID after their return from Pakistan, by bringing them under preventive custody so that terrorist-separatist syndicates do not succeed in pressuring them to join terror ranks. Eventually, all of the 12 have been handed over to their families,” the statement read.
It added: “Today, they are alive and happily live amidst their mothers, sisters, brothers, fathers and friends. Unfortunately, 16 of them are still across and trapped in camps under control of hostile agencies.”
Police have further claimed that investigation has confirmed that in each case, the visa to Pakistan was arranged at the behest of one or the other leader of a constituent party of the Hurriyat.
“The CID is committed to help the parents of vulnerable young persons in not falling prey to the death traps. J&K Police is committed to speedy and hassle-free clearances for more than 99% (people) who are ‘clean and green’ and a professional filtering of those who should be prevented from availing the service — some in their own interest and others in the interest of the public,” the statement said.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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