Srinagar:
There is uproar in Kashmir over the custodial death of a National Conference activist. 61-year-old Haji Yousuf, believed to be a political fixer, was handed over to the Crime Branch by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over alleged corruption and blackmail charges. He died yesterday.
The state government has already ordered a probe by a sitting High Court Judge but the opposition PDP has blamed the Chief Minster squarely for Mr Yousuf's death , and want him to resign, so that a fair probe can be carried out.
"An attempt is 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," said Muzaffar Baig, Leader, PDP.
Mr Yousuf, believed to be a political fixer, had allegedly taken money from two National Conference leaders with a promise to make them Minister and Member of Legislative Council.
Omar Abdullah told NDTV that he called Mr Yousuf along with the two National Conference leaders to his residence and when it was established that Mr Yousuf had taken money from the other two, he handed all three over to the police.
Party insiders say Mr Abdullah's move to punish corrupt elements within his party has backfired badly.
"There were bruises on his eye... There were also pale marks on his throat which suggest that he had been mugged by a pillow," said Syed Taliban, son of the deceased, rejecting the charges against Mr Yousuf.