NEW DELHI: A group of prominent activists detained at the Srinagar airport on Friday when they were on an informal mission to meet people in Kashmir and learn about their hardships, has alleged that they were forcibly sent back to Delhi on the ground that they could pose a threat to law and order. The group comprised activist Sandeep Pandey, Prafulla Samantra of Lok Shakti Abhiyan, and Faisal Khan of Khudai Khidmatgar, an organisation founded by freedom fighter Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan.
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“We were held up and we don’t know why it was done,” Pandey said in a press conference on Saturday. He said there were individual notices against him, Samantra and Khan, and the district magistrate stopped him from travelling beyond the arrivals lounge, citing Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a law that limits public gatherings.
They intended “to organise protests” against the constitutional changes in Kashmir, according to the order, a charge denied by all three. The order stated, “Such protests may have an adverse effect on the law and order situation in the district (Budgam) which has so far remained by and large peaceful.” The delegation included activists Mohammad Javed Malik and Mustafa Mohammad, who too were sent back to Delhi.