Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, on Tuesday said she was being “intimidated” by the police for putting up a fight in the High Court to get her passport. Earlier, she was granted a country-specific passport only.
Ms. Mufti alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sent her a letter recently over the statements she made about “being pressured to withdraw her court petition”.
The CID, in a formal communication to Ms. Mufti, said it wanted to “find out the veracity of her statements and probe the allegations so as to meet the principles of natural justice”.
Ms. Mufti has termed the CID letter “an intimidation tactic to threaten me into silence”. “But I will be happy to join an enquiry into why rogue senior officers within the CID are abusing their powers to lay off innocent civilians from their jobs, delay promotions under the pretext of verification and harass people,” Ms. Mufti said.
‘Misuse of powers’
She also requested the judiciary to take a note of how the CID was misusing its position and powers to harass and intimidate a young woman like me. “I am a law abiding citizen and their harassment is causing me great distress,” Ms. Mufti said.
The daughter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Ms. Iltija Mufti said she was being deprived of her passport, which is a fundamental right, “because the same agency is misusing their powers”. “They have become brazen as far as intimidation is concerned. I hope the honourable judiciary takes note of how the CID pressures litigants and interferes with the duties of the passport office too,” she added.
Meanwhile, Ms. Mufti said she will be happy “to cooperate and name the officers who have been harassing her”.
Ms. Mufti had applied for a passport in June last year. She pleaded before the High Court this year, saying she was planning to go for an educational course to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Later, the Regional Passport Office, after the court intervention, only issued a country-specific passport valid for two years. However, Ms. Mufti challenged the same in the High Court and sought a normal passport.
