The Counter Intelligence Kashmir(CIK), a wing of the CID department of Jammu & Kashmir police, has filed a 19-page charge sheet against People's Democratic Party (PDP) youth wing President Waheed Parra in a designated court in Srinagar.
Parra, who was detained on August 5, 2019, after Article 370 and Article 35(A) were abrogated from Jammu and Kashmir, was released from a sub-jail and put under house arrest in February 2020. Parra was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on November 25, 2020. The PDP youth leader has been described as an asset for Pakistan-based terror groups and his 13 years journey from 2007 as a journalist and then as a politician was a "saga of subterfuge, deceit and double dealing", as per the police chargesheet filed against him.
Parra is considered a close aide of the former chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti. Parra who had joined the PDP in 2013 and became the president of the youth wing of the party, was considered one of the important members of the party. During his political rise, it's alleged that Parra had established a nexus with terrorists for seeking support from them for political gains and reciprocated it by providing a range of help and support which led to terror strikes.
The chargesheet filed against him has listed instances of his targeted attempts to eliminate political opponents in the valley and to help his party leaders by paying terror groups to swing the electoral battle in PDP's favour. As per the police allegation, Parra’s cable network office was used as a meeting place for Over Ground Workers OGWs. The chargesheet against him further alleges that after the encounter of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in the year 2016, Parra had paid Rs 5 crore to Altaf Ahmad Shah, the son-in-law of hardline Hurriyat Conference politician Syed Ali Shah Geelani, to keep Kashmir valley in turmoil by carrying out unrest and stone-pelting.
The charges against Parra have been consistently rejected by PDP, who has termed the allegations politically motivated. Parra's lawyer, while denying all the charges made against him, has claimed that his client was being made a political scapegoat, who won the District Development Council elections held last year in J&K. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has cited the report of UN human rights experts which had claimed that Parra has been kept in inhuman conditions and tortured in custody. However, contrary to the UN report, it was revealed through an investigative report of CNN News 18 that the PDP leader is enjoying VIP treatment in Srinagar Jail with luxurious facilities in his room.
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