Action should be taken against police officers for drug trafficking in J-K: Srinagar MP Mehdi

Lok Sabha MP Ruhullah Mehdi on Friday said action should be taken against those police officers in whose jurisdictions drug trafficking takes place in Jammu and Kashmir. Calling for action against some police officers in whose jurisdiction trafficking takes place, Mehdi said bulldozers should be run over their houses.

Lok Sabha MP Ruhullah Mehdi on Friday said action should be taken against those police officers in whose jurisdictions drug trafficking takes place in Jammu and Kashmir. Speaking to reporters here, Mehdi, the National Conference (NC) MP from Srinagar, also said drug trafficking cannot take place without the connivance of some officials in the security establishment. He also said that Health Minister Sakina Itoo was right in saying that coercive action should not be taken against family members of the accused. ''Rather than walks, Sinha, the viceroy, should become serious. How are drugs coming here? ''The police, intelligence and the security forces are in his control. Without the connivance of the security forces, all this is not possible,'' Mehdi said. He alleged that profiling of Kashmiris is being done to target them in the garb of the fight against drug trafficking. ''In the name of drugs, you indulge in profiling and bulldoze the houses of innocents. If someone is involved, strict punishment should be given to him, but which constitution allows punishing their extended families? ''This profiling was seen in Uttar Pradesh and earlier also in Kashmir. If someone is a Muslim, their house is bulldozed even before the judgment of the judiciary. Rapists are given legal relief like bail and parole if they are not Muslims,'' he added. Calling for action against some police officers in whose jurisdiction trafficking takes place, Mehdi said bulldozers should be run over their houses. ''Bulldozers should be run on the houses of those police officers in whose jurisdiction drugs are trafficked and they allow it. Nothing can be achieved with walks and optics; they have to be serious,'' he said. Asserting there were too many layers of security forces in J-K, he said nothing can happen without the knowledge of the intelligence agencies, police and paramilitary forces. ''Without their connivance, it is not possible,'' he added. He also said that the ''LG, under whom drug trafficking has increased, should also be held accountable and should get punishment as well''. To a question on speculations about defections in the ruling NC, the MP, who has been disgruntled with the party for some time now, said he does not appreciate any defections in the party. ''If anything, I want resilience in NC. People within the NC should stand up to the hierarchy, I won't call them leadership, and tell them that we are compromising on the ideology. ''We are going against the mandate of the people, they should stand up to the hierarchy and correct the course. That is what I want,'' he said. He also said he does not see any defections taking place in the NC. ''I see them distancing from ideology but they are distancing in flock; I don't see any defections on the basis of ideology,'' he added. On the remarks of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that cabinet expansion was not taking place because statehood was not restored, Mehdi asked whether the chief minister would expand the cabinet if statehood were not restored for five years. ''Then why is he there himself? Cabinet expansion means that more people will get representation in the governance. ''If the representation in governance is subjected to statehood, then why is he there? Then he should step down and walk with me,'' he said. On the assembly election results, he said the Constitution, law, and law enforcement agencies were ''openly compromised'' for the interests of a particular political party. ''Candidates indulged in hate speeches and rather than disqualifying them, their hate speeches were facilitated. About one crore votes were deleted through SIR. ''In Assam, there was gerrymandering of constituencies and the use of paramilitary forces in Bengal proves that the Constitution was disregarded, and unfortunately, police and paramilitary forces became facilitators for a political party,'' he said. The Lok Sabha MP said there were hopes that the judiciary would act, ''but it has not been seen so far''. ''It seems that like China, India too will convert into one nation, one party where the BJP will get the control,'' he said.