JAMMU: Ghulam Nabi Azad led government had changed the policy that resulted in the denial of identification of the persons being protected in the state of J&K. This, the government would say, is being done for security reasons.
On Friday, the government revealed almost every possible detail about the group of Kashmiri separatists having a security cover. It offered details about the overall expenditure that was booked, the number of cops or SPOs, which are guarding them and in one case, interestingly, even the SPO was identified.
The entire information came in response to a simple cut motion by Pawan Gupta. “I move a cut of Rs 100 in demand No 02, in order to discuss the year wise / person wise details of security-related expenditure incurred on providing of guard/security/transport to separatists and Hurriyat leaders during last 10 years.”
In response came a five-page annexure. It suggested that the state government booked an expenditure of Rs 10.88 crore on providing security cover to various separatist leaders. Most of the expenditure is booked on the salaries and wages of their security detail and the fuel that the escort consumed.
The expenditure, the response said, made on the vehicles escorting them and protecting their residential houses, cost the government Rs 10.8875777 crore, so far.
From 2008 to 2017, the J& K Government spent Rs 103665824 crore on providing salaries to PSOs of various separatist leaders whereas Rs 4970805 was spent on fuel to vehicles escorting them, the reply said.
The government revealed that an amount of Rs 4,44,558 is being incurred as monthly salary to the guard personnel / PSOs attached with Aga Syed Hassan Mosavi.
The reply states that six SPOs are attached with the Prof Abdul Gani Bhat and amount of Rs 4,32,000 is being paid as the honorarium to these SPOs annually through Police Division Sopore.
Details suggest that Mosvi’s security cost the state government Rs 10408103, that of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq Rs 26793459; of Prof Abdul Gani Bhat Rs 21453500; of Molvi Abbas Ansari Rs 10516037; of Bilal Gani Lone Rs 16571717; of Salim Geelani Rs 3470031; of Zaffar Akbar Bhat Rs 4795800; of Shahid ul Islam Rs 8147600; of Abdul Gani Shah (Kishtwar) Rs 874611; of Syed Abdul Hussain (Budgam) Rs 2521000; of Farooq Ahmad Kichloo (Kishtwar) Rs 874611; and for the security of Masroor Abbas Ansari Rs 2210160.
The reply further stated that the PSO and guard of Shahid ul Islam stands withdrawn from July 25, 2017. Shahid is in NIA detention.
According to the reply, at least eight separatist leaders are provided security cover by the state police. These exclude Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mohammad Yasin Malik. All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders, who have been provided security cover, include Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Bilal Lone, Molvi Abbas Ansari Abdul Gani Bhat, Shahid ul Islam, Saleem Gillani, Fazal Haq Qureshi and Syed Hassan Mosavi.
The documents placed on record offer slightly confusing details too. There is no expenditure for the security of Fazl Haq Qureshi in the main document that listed the decade-long costs. However, in case of Yasin Malik, the same document puts the cost at Rs 2391.48.
The second annexure puts Nusrat ul Islam High School at Rajouri Kadal C/O Molvi Manzil in the protection list with a 1+3 guard.
However, the documents suggest that no vehicle from any district is attached with any APHC leaders.
Source: kashmirlife
