Jammu and Kashmir Aaam Aadmi Party (AAP), chief and member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Mehraj Malik, were arrested on Monday under the Strict Public Security Act (PSA) for allegedly upsetting the public order in the Doda district of the Jammu division, officials said. This is the first time that a sitting MLA has been arrested under the PSA, the controversial law that in some cases authorizes up to two years without trial preventative detention of individuals. Officials said the 37-year-old Monkey Mla was arrested by police in Dak Bungalow earlier in the day while planning to visit the flood-strained areas of his constituency. They told the news agency PTI that he was later moved under the PSA to the Bhaderwah district under the PSA at the command of Doda’s Deputy Commissioner, Harvinder Singh, after police prepared a file against him. Who is Mehraj Malik? Mehraj Malik, a social worker from Jammu and Kashmir, was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in October 2024 for the Doda’s constituency. He is the first and only MLA candidate in Jammu and Kashmir. On October 17, 2022, the AAM AADMI PARTY appointed him co-chair of the J&K State Coordination Committee. On March 21, 2025, Malik was appointed State President for AAM AADMI Party in J&K. Malik began his political career after joining the monkey in 2013. He ran as an independent candidate in the 2014 election, but lost. In 2020, he was elected to the Doda District Development Council as an independent candidate with a margin of 3511 votes in Kahara. In the election of Jammu and Kashmir in 2024, Malik defeated his closest rival of the BJP in Doda selection division with a margin of more than 4.538 votes, which registered his party’s first win in the Union area. Officials said Malik was nominated in various police stations in the Doda district in 18 Fir’s and 16 diary reports. Malik is accused of attacking officials on duty, locking them in their offices and publicly abusing and intimidating them, officials said. Malik is also facing charges of kidnapping, officials said. PSA would not affect its membership of the J&K legislative meeting, as it has so far not been convicted in any of the cases registered so far against him. Last week, a video allegedly opened that Malik had abused Doda Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh on the issue of moving a sub-center in health. While Malik claimed that his recommendation was ignored in the case, the DC claimed that the MLA wanted the administration to allow the sub-center to function in a building built by one of his supporters on state land and renting him monthly. Earlier controversies in April, Malik entered into a pair of BJP and PDP members in the JK meeting complex after the leaders of the Saffron Party objected to his alleged remarks that Hindus became drunk at festivals, while PDP lawmakers took strong exception to his statement to PDP founder. However, Malik later claimed that his statement on Hindus was taken out of context. The action against Malik, who regularly made controversies with his statements, comes amid a major protest march by government employees who came out in support of the Deputy Commissioner after Malik used a social media platform to start a derogatory campaign against him. The action against Malik, who regularly made controversies with his statements, comes amid a major protest march by government employees who came out in support of the Deputy Commissioner after Malik used a social media platform to start a derogatory campaign against him. The protesting employees accused the MLA of “usually” abusing “abusing government officials, including doctors, and youth against the official machinery. In a statement, the protesting employees praised the deputy commissioner for his ‘extraordinary service, integrity and commitment to public welfare’, saying that his compassionate approach made him a ‘beacon of hope’ for the residents of Doda in general and especially the population of the flood. ‘Insulting language and unfounded assertion’, they condemned the use of ‘abusive language and unfounded allegations’ against the officer as ‘unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable’ and struck the ‘uncivilized and irresponsible’ behavior of the legislature. The officials said dozens of cases and complaints have been registered against Malik over the past one year for his ‘unfolded’ behavior and fighting with government officials in the Hill district. Several other close collaborators of the AAP leader are also being kept under PSA, while additional deployment has been done in the sensitive areas to maintain law and order, they said. The leaders over political parties have widely condemned the detention of Malik. Monkey Chief Arind Kejriwal hit the detention on Monday, saying he raised his voice for the rights of people in his constituency. “Is a hospital for the people of your area such a serious crime that an elected MLA should be jailed for it? Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said there was no justification to keep Mehraj Malik under the PSA. “He is not a threat to” public safety “, and the use of this discredited law to keep him on is wrong. If the unelected government can use its powers against an elected representative like this, how can someone expect the people of J&K to continue to trust in democracy, ‘Abdullah said. The opposition -PDP and Peoples conference condemned Malik’s detention under PSA and called it an attempt to crush division and an assault on democracy. During his detention in Dak Bungalow, Malik posted a video on his social media account in which he claimed to be prevented from meeting people from his constituency who “suffered tremendously” due to the recent flash flooding and storm rain. The MLA accused the Deputy Commissioner of organizing protests by employees against him. “There are many areas in my constituency that are without road connection, ration and without shelter after their homes are damaged, but I am detained here,” Malik said that senior monkey leader Manish Sisodia also knocked out, and described Malik’s detention as “the open dictatorship of the Modi-Shah government that is in hunger.” In a post on X, he said that those who raise their voice for people’s rights are considered a threat, but “history is witness, when dictatorship increases, the revolution gain momentum.” Before being moved to jail, Malik uploaded a video claiming to be prevented from meeting people who were affected by flash floods and storm rain. If the unelected government can use its powers against an elected representative like this, how can anyone expect the people of J&K to continue to trust in democracy? “There are many areas in my constituency that are without road connection, ration and shelter after their homes are damaged, but I am being held here,” he said. (With agency input)
-
-
-
-
