Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 17: Police today briefly seized the official vehicle of Jammu and Kashmir’s Law Secretary and took the bureaucrat to a nearby police station after he allegedly entered a route from which Chief Minister’s cavalcade was about to pass outside the Civil Secretariat here.
The incident took place in the morning when Law Secretary Mohammad Ashraf Mir was going to Civil Secretariat in his official vehicle.
As soon as the official reached near Jehangir Chowk and was about to turn towards the gate of the Secretariat, Traffic Police personnel stopped his car and asked the driver to take the u-turn at Batamaloo crossing as the cavalcade of the Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was approaching.
“I was in the back seat of my official car when it was stopped near the gate. Traffic Police asked my driver to drive straight instead of turning right towards the Secretariat gate.
“The driver told them that I was the Law Secretary but they did not listen. I told them that the CM cavalcade was nowhere in sight and that our car will manage to reach Secretariat by the time the cavalcade arrives,” Mir said.
He said as the driver was arguing with the Traffic Police, Station House Officer (SHO) of Police Station Shaheedgunj took out the keys of the car.
“He came and took the keys of the official car. He then asked the driver to come out of the vehicle. As the driver opened the window, the police officer dragged him out by holding his arm and took the driver’s seat himself and drove the car,” Mir said.
“He turned the car towards Lal Chowk and then drove towards Karan Nagar. When I asked him where he was going, he said ‘sit there and you will come to know’,” the official said.
Mir said the police officer drove the car to police station Shaheedgunj.
“He dropped me outside the police station and took the car inside the police station,” the Law Secretary said. Mir said he then took a vehicle to secretariat and then registered his protest with the Home Secretary..
“I straightaway went to meet Home Secretary and narrated the incident to him. He assured me that action will be taken against the police officer,” Mir said.
Meanwhile, police said the accused SHO has been attached with District Police Lines (DPL).
“He has been transferred from there and attached with the DPL Srinagar,” a senior police officer said.
He said the Law Secretary and his driver had entered into an argument with the police officer.
“The protocol does not allow any car to be allowed when the Chief Minister’s cavalcade is passing. The CM’s security detail cannot take any risks and will not allow any security lapse,” he said.
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