Muhammad Mukaram
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Aug 24: The J&K Home Department has declined to provide information under RTI about the persons booked under Public Safety Act in the state since 2005. In a reply to an RTI, which had been filed by a Journalism student, the Home Department has said they don't have any district wise record about the persons who have been booked under the PSA in the last 10 years. "The old records pertaining to the detention section of the Home Department were washed out in last year's floods. Thus, we don't have any record about the district wise persons who were booked (from) 2005 till 2015," the Home Department officials said in their reply. Ahsan Shafi, the student who had filed the RTI, had also sought information about the persons who are still serving detention under the PSA. The RTI reveals, "As on July 21, 2015, there are 17 persons languishing in different jails of the state under section (8) of the Jammu and Kashmir PSA, 1978. Among (the) 17 persons, three are under detention for secessionist activities." Talking to Early Times, Ahsan said, "Are there no digital records? They could have easily obtained them from district headquarters and provided the same if there was no record in the headquarters." He said the floods were just an excuse to decline the information. |
