Notwithstanding allegations of Iltija Mufti daughter of former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) wing of Jammu and Kashmir has cleared almost 100 percent of applications for passports.
On Friday, Iltija Mufti has accused the Government of India of curbing her fundamental rights by issuing a conditional passport after a year of court litigation. Iltija Mufti has alleged that the CID wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police has been misleading the court with different lies and are opposing the issuance of a passport to her.
After allegations of Iltija Mufti, Jammu and Kashmir Police shared figures of passport applications cleared by the CID wing.
What Iltija Mufti alleged?
Iltija Mufti was issued a passport valid only for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and for a limited period of two years.
She had approached the Jammu and Kashmir high court after the travel document was denied by the regional passport office, citing an adverse report from CID.
Iltija Mufti alleged CID and Deputy Solicitor General are pressuring me to withdraw my petition in court, but I will not withdraw my petition as I have full faith in the judiciary". "Despite knowing I am not involved in any FIR or any other anti-national activity, how come to the passport officer issued me a conditional passport just before the hearing in court.
She said it's "Andher Nagri" here as the passport office is putting blame on the CID department and CID is putting blame on the passport office. In between I'm the actual sufferer," said Iltija Mufti.
CID clears almost 100 percent of passport applications
"Since some of the published items contain outrightly false assertions attributed to figures with the public profile it has become necessary to point out the untruthfulness of the claims", an official spokesman said.
"On learning that accusations have been made that CID of J&K Police has pressurized a litigant to refrain from litigating in the High Court in connection with her passport-related grievances, a quick internal audit was carried out", the official spokesman said.
The following statistics would put the records straight.
- 2020: out of 77686 passport verifications received, 77644 (99.95%) cleared.
- 2021: out of 75714 passport verifications received, 75176 (99.68%) cleared.
- 2022: out of 134315 passport verifications received, 128939 (99.61%) cleared.
Iltija was never pressurized to withdraw the petition
"J&K Police can affirm that the claim of such pressure is completely false. Nevertheless, officers are being detailed to approach the aggrieved person and ascertain details – who pressurized, when, where and under what circumstances so that the quick internal inquiry if found inadequate can be expanded to take suitable disciplinary action against the delinquent", the spokesman said.
Unfortunately, the public person has apparently projected her personal grievance as also to be the grievance of the public in general in Kashmir. This is very problematic. J&K Police and its affiliates are public institutions designed to serve the public interest. Denigrating the community's own institutions for grievances that are personal based on false accusations is self-harm.
"J&K Police has come across several items in the media - in print as well as electronic - suggesting that its intelligence and counterintelligence wing among other things is pressurizing litigants to withdraw from the process of redressing their grievances through courts of law. Ordinarily, law enforcement agencies do not rush to the public to discuss their work processes and procedures, especially those that are legally ordained to be discreet in the public interest", the spokesperson said.
54 boys managed passports wrongly, joined terror ranks
The spokesperson further said that the security verifications preceding the issue of passports is a high-value public service. It is important to note that J&K Police has detected as many as 54 young boys who were wrongly given passport service during 2017-18.
"Unfortunately, all of them went to Pakistan, were taken to terrorist camps, trained in arms, ammunition, and explosives, many of them pushed back into J&K through Line of Control (LoC) and 26 of them died while either crossing or during encounters in the hinterland", the spokesperson said.
"Lives of 12 of these young boys could be saved by the CID after their return from Pakistan, by bringing them under preventive custody so that terrorist-separatist syndicates do not succeed in pressuring them to join terror ranks", the spokesperson said.
"Eventually all of the 12 have been handed over to their families. Today they are alive and happily live amidst their mothers, sisters, brothers, fathers, and friends", the spokesperson said.
Unfortunately, 16 of them are still across and trapped in camps under the control of hostile agencies.
It is heartbreaking to know that in some cases even parents had no idea that passport services have been extended to these boys of tender age. Intelligence and investigation has confirmed that in every case the visa to Pakistan was arranged at the behest of one or the other leader of a constituent party of Hurriyat.
CID is committed to help the parents of vulnerable young persons in not falling prey to the death traps. J&K Police is committed to speedy and hassle free clearances for more than 99% who are 'clean and green' and professional filtering of those who should be prevented from availing of the service - some in their interest and others in the interest of the public.
