In a fall-out of the shoe-hurling affair, when a disgruntled policeman threw his shoe at Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah during the Independence Day celebrations, the state government has transferred two senior police officers of the security wing and attached them to the police headquarters.
They are Ram Lubahya, inspector general of police (IGP), security, and Rafiq ul-Hassan, a senior superintendent of police (SSP), security.
Head constable Abdul Ahad Jan, who was under suspension, hurled his shoe at the chief minister to protest against the situation in the valley where people were being killed in security forces’ firing, and missed.
While no official reasons were provided, sources said the move is clearly linked to the lax security during the event at Bakshi Stadium. What is worrying the authorities is how Abdul Ahad Jan managed to enter the VVIP, enclosure meant for ministers and senior bureaucrats, at the venue. Fifteen officials of the security wing were suspended for the security breach immediately after the incident.
Jan, who was hailed as a hero after the incident, later said that having served in the police’s criminal investigation department (CID) for 10 years, he knew many policemen. “That is the reason I was allowed to enter (the VVIP enclosure) without any problems,” he had said after his release from jail.
Jan was initially charged with sedition, under which he faced the maximum punishment of life imprisonment. However, Omar Abdullah pardoned him and all charges were dropped.
