Indian police arrest IIOJK HC Bar president Adv Nazir Ronga in Srinagar
Srinagar: Indian police have arrested the president of the High Court Bar Association Nazir Ahmad Ronga, under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) in Srinagar city of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Advocate Nazir Ahmad Ronga was arrested during midnight raid at his home in Srinagar.
His family stated that they were informed by the police that advocate Ronga has been booked under the PSA.
Uzair Ronga, Ronga’s son and also an advocate at the Srinagar High Court, expressed his concern online, saying, “In a distressing development, my father, Advocate N. A. Ronga, has been arrested. At 1:10 am, a contingent of J&K Police arrived at our home without an arrest warrant, simply stating, ‘It’s an order from above.’ We hope this is not another misuse of the PSA to intimidate Bar Association members.”
Speaking to media, Uzair said, “This morning, during his medical check-up, police informed us about his detention under the PSA. They mentioned he would be moved to a jail in Jammu. The family has not been informed about the grounds of detention yet.”
Advocate Ronga, who has served multiple terms as president of the High Court Bar Association, has been holding the position since 2020, following the prevention of annual elections by IIOJK authorities. The last elections were held in 2018 and were due in September 2019 but couldn’t be held because of abrogation of IIOJK’s special status and subsequent curfew.
Advocate Ronga’s arrest follows recent efforts by the Election Committee of the High Court Bar Association to initiate elections. However, the New Delhi-installed IIOJK administration once again obstructed the process when the committee aimed to complete the elections by July 31.
