Separatist leader Masarat Alam charged under Public Safety Act

Kashmiri separatist leader Masarat Alam Bhat, who was arrested last week on sedition charges, has been charged under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) by the Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday, according to a Zee News Report. He has also been booked under Sections 121-A (waging war against the country), 124 (Sedition), 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy), 147 (rioting) of Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) and other minor offences, the report said. [caption id=“attachment_2208932” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Masarat Alam in a file photo. AFP[/caption] The imposition of the Public Safety Act allows the state to keep Alam in jail for two years without trial. A Deccan Chronicle report mentions that the government took the decision a day after the Budgam court reserved his bail plea verdict till 25 April. Alam was arrested after a rally on 15 April in Srinagar, where he shared the stage with Syed Geelani. Youths surrounding him had displayed Pakistani flags and shouted Pro-Pakistan slogans.  Alam had also reportedly shouted slogans like, “Kashmir Banega…." to which the youth responded with cries of “Pakistan”. He also shouted slogans like “Jeevay, Jeevay Pakistan (Long live Pakistan)" at the rally which sparked a furore, following which the Jammu and Kashmir police filed a case against him. Alam was then placed in police detention in Budgam district where a police complaint was lodged against him. Alam has defended his actions saying it wouldn’t deter them from their goal. “It was a normal rally. This is not the first time that boys were raising pro-Pakistan slogans or had a Pakistani flag in their hands. It has been happening here since decades. I did not raise the flag. If they want to arrest me for that, let them do it,” Alam told Firstpost on Friday, moments before he was arrested by police from his Srinagar residence. “The state has been using force against us for decades but it will not deter us from fighting for our goal. For us there is no difference in who is in the government. They are all same," he added.