Instigating crowds, travelling on tourist visa: Centre on Shah Feasal’s detention

New Delhi, Aug 28: The Centre has said that the Lookout Circular against Shah Faesal was issued by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), based on which he was stopped from leaving the country.

The LOC was issued on August 12 and Feasel was travelling out of the country on a tourist and not a student visa. The IAS topper from Kashmir had said that he was on his way to the United States to complete his studies at Harvard University. However, the Centre said that he could not have undertaken this trip as he had a tourist and not a study visa.

Further, the Centre said that he had been detained as he was instigating crowds at the Srinagar airport.

Faesal, who has been in the limelight since becoming the first Kashmiri to top the exam in 2009, resigned protesting the "unabated" killings in Kashmir and the marginalisation of Indian Muslims.

In a brief statement on Facebook, the 35-year-old said his resignation was also to protest "the marginalisation and invisibilisation of around 200 million Indian Muslims at the hands of Hindutva forces reducing them to second-class citizens; insidious attacks on the special identity of the state and growing culture of intolerance and hate in mainland India in the name of hyper-nationalism".

In the wake of Article 370 being abrogated, the IB had warned that several persons from the Valley may look to leave India and try and drum up support in foreign countries. The Valley is vulnerable and in the wake of the Centre trying to restore normalcy, certain precautionary measures are necessary, an IB official informed OneIndia.

Faesal had challenged his detention in the Delhi High Court. Responding to his petition, the Centre said that he had been detained on August 14 as he was instigating crowds at the Srinagar airport. He was detained on August 14.