Journalist, wife assaulted by cops escorting J&K Minister Ghulam Nabi Lone

Srinagar: A journalist working with a leading local English daily today alleged that he was beaten up by the personal security personnel of Jammu and Kashmir Minister Ghulam Nabi Lone after an argument. Javed Malik alleged that a security man first passed “lewd” remarks at his wife and then was thrashed by several of them when he wanted to complain to the minister. [caption id=“attachment_2307400” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. AP[/caption] “I and my wife were going to buy vegetables from the local market when the Agriculture Minister’s motorcade started honking relentlessly at Bagh-e-Mehtab. I allowed the motorcade to passage as soon as possible,” Malik told PTI. The journalist with ‘Greater Kashmir’ newspaper alleged that some guards of Lone, who was sitting in one of the vehicles, picked up an argument with him, saying he had taken too much time in giving passage to the motorcade. “As they were leaving, one of the guards passed lewd remarks at my wife. I chased the Minister’s motorcade to bring it to his notice,” Malik said. He claimed that as he walked towards Lone’s vehicle to bring the matter to his notice, the guards pounced on him and thrashed him. “The guards were so rude. They kept on beating me despite my wife pleading before them,” Malik said. The Agriculture Minister could not be reached for his comments as he was not in his office and his mobile phone was switched off. PTI