Srinagar, Aug 19 (IANS) Police in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district said on Wednesday that they have booked a BJP Kisan Morcha leader for cheating and intimidation.
Officials said police in Pulwama district have registered a case of cheating and criminal intimidation against Aijaz Ahmad Shah, a BJP Kisan Morcha leader in the district.
The case has been registered against Shah at the Tral police station under sections 420 (cheating and dishonesty inducing someone to deliver property, money or valuables) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, officials said.
The officials said since the alleged crime took place in 2022, the case has been registered under the IPC, which was replaced by the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) in July 2024.
The complaint alleged that Shah took money from him on the pretext of getting him help from police in a matter.
Shah, who was appointed vice president of the Pulwama Kisan Morcha last November, faces eight similar cases registered in at least four police stations in the district since 2016.
This was the third case registered against Shah this year. The development follows the registration of an FIR against BJP’s Pulwama district president Showkat Gayoor on August 11 for alleged extortion and threats.
The BJP has suspended Gayoor from all positions pending party disciplinary proceedings against him.
BJP leader Altaf Thakur, who also belongs to the Tral area, refused to comment on the latest FIR against Shah.
In the past, police have also booked some political leaders and activists for extortion and cheating, basically by promising government jobs and help from police and local officers.
In almost all such cases, the accused had made false promises by misusing the name of the political parties they belonged to.
During the peak years of terrorism, many such dishonest activists belonging to different political parties were accused of extorting money from parents of youths taken into custody for questioning by the security forces in terror-related cases.
–IANS
sq/dpb