''I am innocent,'' says J and K Congress leader

Srinagar, May 28 (UNI) Former Jammu and Kashmir Minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir, named by a private TV channel for his alleged involvement in the recently-surfaced sex scandal, has claimed to be ''innocent'' even as he expressed shock over media reports suggesting that he has been absconding since his name figured in the scandal.

In a statement here, he said there was a ''conspiracy to defame him by dragging his name'' in the sex scandal.

''It is most shocking for me to read media reports alleging that I have left the state and am absconding. This has prompted me to make a statement,'' the senior state Congress leader added.

''Fact of the matter is that I have not moved out of the Valley for the past more than two weeks. On one hand, the tirade seems to be a part of well-thought out plan by my political adversaries aimed at maligning me and on the other trying to influence the mind of the court by circulating these fabricated stories,'' he said.

Mr Mir regretted that his political opponents were ''stooping too low'', saying the flesh trade scandal had equally shocked him and he shared the anxiety of all the sensitive minds of society.

''I firmly believe that the law should take its own course and the investigating agencies be given a free hand to take the probe to its logical end and all those found involved in the sex racket be dealt with sternly,'' he added.

The former Minister of State for Roads and Buildings appealed to all the concerned not to turn this serious issue into a battle to settle political scores or derive political mileage from it.

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