KL Report
SRINAGAR
The Centre is mulling to hand over some of the cases of Hurriyat leader Masarat Alam in which he has been booked under UAPA to NIA, media reports said on Wednesday. This may lead to fresh controversies between the coalition partners, PDP and BJP.
The reports said that the Home Minister Rajnath Singh made it amply clear on the floor of the House that he was not satisfied with the report submitted by the state about the release of Masarat and further clarification has been sought.
Sources said Home Ministry officials discussed the future course of action and a suggestion was made to hand over some of the cases, where Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) had been slapped on Masarat, to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Under Section 6(5) of the NIA Act, if the Central Government is convinced that the case needs to be probed by the NIA, it can hand over the case.
Of the 27 cases registered against 44-year-old Masarat Alam, eight cases have been registered under various provisions of UAPA.
He has been under PSA eight times since 2010 when he was arrested in an operation that earned six policemen promotions besides a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh which Masarat Alam was carrying on his head.
