COVID19: Iltija writes to LG, requests release of all detainees including mother

Srinagar: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter has written a letter to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu, requesting him to release all detainees including her mother as Covid-19 cases continue to rise in India.

In her letter to Murmu, Iltija Mufti said, As you’re aware, thousands of Kashmiris including my mother Ms Mufti, ex-Chief Minister J&K have been jailed since August 5. As the world prepares to battle the deadly COVID (already declared a global pandemic by WHO), India in all likelihood has entered Stage 3 in which the virus spreads through community transmission. J&K has already reported 4 cases & the numbers will go up exponentially in the coming weeks.

Saying that isolation is the best possible way to contain the outbreak, Iltija added that overcrowded jails and lack of healthcare make detainees highly vulnerable to the deadly contagion. It could cause even bigger problems for senior citizens who above 65, Mufti added.

There are hundreds of senior citizens from the Valley battling multiple ailments across jails in the country. Some of these detainees come from humble families where the members haven’t been able to afford a single trip to visit their sons & brothers lodged in jails outside Kashmir. You can well imagine their anxiety & concern in the wake of COVID pandemic, she said.

She requested the Jammu and Kashmir LG to release all detainees immediately and all them to return home.

At a time when jails even in the USA are releasing inmates, one fails to understand the reluctance of GOI in freeing detainees jailed for the past 8 months on trumped-up charges, she added.

We are in the midst of an extraordinary medical situation and healthcare systems all over the world are collapsing. I urge you to consider my request. I’m sure you will agree the collective health and wellbeing of each of these detainees overrides every other consideration/rationale for their detention, Mufti concluded.

As of now, India has over 430 confirmed Covid-19 cases and it has already resulted in the death of eight people.