Jammu and Kashmir Police have booked a National Conference (NC) MLA and a party spokesperson for allegedly assaulting a personal security officer (PSO) in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The MLA said that he was attacked by the PSO for informing the SSP (Security) about his absence for the past three days.
Officials said that the FIR was filed based on a complaint by PSO Shabir Ahmad against Pahalgam MLA Altaf Kaloo and NC spokesperson Umesh Bhat.
The PSO has alleged that he was on duty as part of the MLA’s security detail and following an altercation, the MLA and the party spokesperson assaulted him leading to some injuries as well.
An FIR has been registered under Sections 121 and 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Sadder Anantang police station.
However, the concerned MLA addressed the media on Friday evening denying the allegations. “All these allegations are baseless,” Kaloo said. He said that he was in Srinagar after the conclusion of the assembly autumn session and left for Anantnag on Thursday.
“I had a scheduled constituency tour and when we left in the morning, he (PSO) was absent from duties and was called repeatedly by others to join the duties. He was absent for three days,” he alleged.
Kaloo said that he called SSP security informing him about the escort PSO’s absence. “I sent his belt number to the SSP at around 1pm and when we reached Khanabal at 8pm, he was present in civilian clothes and talked very disrespectfully for marking him absent,” he said.
He said that he told the PSO to talk to the concerned SSP about the issue but was attacked by the policeman. “He grabbed me by the neck in front of other PSOs and the cook. I immediately called the SSP who then sent a team,” Kaloo said. He said that the concerned PSO was very violent and furious. “ I am going to file a counter FIR against him,” he said.
