Srinagar:
Under fire over the custodial death a National Conference (NC) activist, the Jammu and Kashmir government today shot back at the Opposition, accusing it of "politicising" the issue.
Addressing a press conference, Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather said that the government didn't waste any time in appointing an inquiry committee to probe Syed Mohammad Yousuf's death. 61-year-old Yousuf, an NC worker from south Kashmir's Anantnag district, died on Friday in police custody. Mr Yousuf, believed to be a political fixer, had been arrested on charges of corruption and blackmail. He was accused by two fellow party workers taking Rs 1.18 crore from them for getting them a ministerial berth and a berth in the Legislative Council.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had told NDTV that he had called Mr Yousuf along with the two NC leaders to his residence and when it was established that the former had taken money from the other two, he handed all three over to the Crime Branch.
However, he complained of nausea while on way to the Crime Branch office. He was immediately taken to a hospital where he died of cardiac arrest, the government version said.
The Opposition cried foul, alleging that it was a cover-up. Hinting at close ties between the deceased and the Chief Minister as well as other ministers in the government, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded Mr Abdullah's resignation to facilitate a fair probe.
"An attempt is being made to cover up a brutal, sordid case of murder for money. Syed Yousuf had intimate relations with Farooq, Omar and Nasir...the deceased was frequenting the residence of the CM," PDP leader Muzaffar Baig had said.
Rubbishing the allegations, Mr Rather said that the Chief Minister had done no wrong and only did his job. "CM's only fault is that he brought the issue to notice...he acted on complaints against Yousuf, took action accordingly", Mr Rather said. Saying that the Chief Minister "didn't waste a minute" in ordering a probe into Mr Yousuf's death, he called on the Opposition to wait for the report of the judicial inquiry.