500 separatists freed after signing ‘good behaviour’ bond: J&K DGP

SRINAGAR: As many as 504 Kashmiri separatists and trouble-makers arrested since the nullification of Article 370 in J&K have been released so far, after they signed a bond pledging “good behaviour”, J&K police chief Dilbag Singh said on Thursday.
Of the 504 released after signing the bond, 117 had affiliations with the Jamaat-e-Islami J&K or the Hurriyat.
The “good behaviour” bond is an undertaking signed by the detainee that he will not indulge in law and order violations for which he was arrested in the first place. “If they violate this bond pledge, they can be re-arrested,” said Singh. The security establishment has meanwhile also ensured Hurriyat Conference (G) remains headless after founder-chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani dissociated from it and resigned from the chief’s post.
Days after detaining Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chairman Ashraf Sehrai who was tipped to succeed Geelani with Pakistan’s blessings, J&K police also arrested Amir Hamza, a Tehreek-e-Jihadi-Islami militant who had been active in the Nineties. Hailing from Bandipora, Hamza was Pakistan’s choice for heading Hurriyat (G) after Sehrai was sent to jail. Hamza, who has been an active terrorist, would have been dangerous as he could energise Hizbul Mujahideen, feel the security agencies. So hours before Pakistan was to prop up Hamza as the next Hurriyat (H) chief, he was detained under PSA.
The J&K DGP said most PSA detainees who were shifted to jails outside the state, are now free as PSA against them is not being renewed.