Booked under anti-terror law, two sons of deceased Hurriyat leader test positive for COVID in Kupwara jail

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Kupwara Town

Ishfaqul Hassan | India Tomorrow

SRINAGAR–Ten days after they were arrested under the anti-terror law, two sons of deceased Hurriyat leader Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai have tested positive for COVID 19 in Kupwara jail.

Mujahid Sehrai and Rashid Sehrai were arrested from their Srinagar residence on May 15. Later they were booked under Section 13 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Both sons tested positive for COVID in Kupwara jail o May 25. Sources said the duo has been quarantined at District Police Lines, Kupwara.

Suraiya Khan, daughter of late Ashraf Sehari told a local news portal that Mujahid and Rashid Ashraf who are facing detention under the UAPA have tested positive some days ago.  

Both sons were arrested in connection with a case registered at Tekkipora police station. Sources said some people had raised “pro-freedom and provocative slogans” during the funeral of Sehrai on May 6. Later, police registered a case against 20 people.

In July last year, Sehrai’s militant son Junaid Sehrai was killed in a gun battle. Junaid had joined Hizbul Mujahedeen and was killed by security forces in old Srinagar city. Three months later, Sehrai was arrested and booked under PSA. He was shifted to Kot Balwal jail in Jammu. Later he was lodged in Udhampur jail in Jammu.

Sehrai, who was Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) chairman, was shifted to Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) hospital in Jammu after he developed serious complications in Udhampur Jail. However, on May 5, he lost the battle of life.

A close aide of ailing Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, he was suffering from multiple ailments including bronchitis, diabetes, blood pressure, kidney disease, prostate, heart problem, and hearing impairment.

Coming from a religious family of Lolaab in the Kupwara district, the 77-year-old leader joined Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir in 1959. Jailed several times, he parted ways with Jamaat in 2004 along with Geelani. Later the duo formed Tehreek e Hurriyat and he became its general secretary before becoming chairman when Geelani stepped down a few years ago.

Sehrai’s wife had also suffered a mild heart attack  soon after news of her sons arrest spread in Kashmir.

Younis Rather, Sehrai’s son-in-law had told the local news agency that Sara Ashraf suffered a mild heart attack in the afternoon when she learnt about her sons’ detention under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

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