J&K AAP chief booked for criminal intimidation on woman doctor's plaint

Jammu and Kashmir Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and MLA Mehraj Malik has been booked on charges of defamation, criminal intimidation, and insulting the modesty of a woman doctor in Doda district.

- HT Correspondent

JAMMU:

The FIR was registered on the complaint of an associate professor at a medical college on Thursday in which she alleged that the MLA took to social media to publicly issue threats and pass abusive, gendered and derogatory remarks against her.

The case was registered under Sections 356 (2)(defamation, including that of deceased), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 79 (actions intended to insult a woman's modesty). This includes uttering words, making gestures or exhibiting objects, or intruding on a woman's privacy with the intent to offend) of the BNS at the Doda police station.

The doctor submitted a complaint at the Doda police station on Thursday evening in which she alleged criminal intimidation, gendered abuse, and threats to hospital security by the MLA.

"In a series of deeply disturbing instances, Malik has used social media platforms to publicly issue threats and make abusive, gendered, and derogatory remarks against me. Phrases such as 'ghaseetunga' (will drag you) and 'will strip you naked' have been used openly and maliciously. These are not mere words—they are direct threats to my dignity, safety, and professional integrity as a female doctor serving in a government hospital. These words clearly outrage the modesty of a female public servant, that too on social media," she said in the complaint.

The complainant asked the police to take cognisance of her allegation that the accused repeatedly used derogatory words against the complainant in his social media live videos.

"What is even more painful is his taunt — 'This hospital doesn't belong to your father' -- a statement that not only reflects arrogance but also extreme insensitivity, considering the fact that my father passed away more than 12 years ago," she said.