Doda/Jammu, Sept. 9 -- At least eight police personnel, including two officers, were injured in clashes between protesters and security forces in Doda as demonstrations were held in the district and other places in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday against the detention of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA), officials said.

Police and paramilitary forces had been deployed in strength in Doda, where supporters of Malik, the president of the J-K unit of AAP, took to the streets a day after he was detained for allegedly disturbing public order and lodged in Kathua district jail.

At least eight police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police and a station house officer, were injured in a clash with stone-pelting protesters at Dunadi after the police tried to stop a march from Bhatyas towards Doda town, the officials said, adding that police fired teargas shells and chased the protesters who regrouped repeatedly and tried to move towards Doda.

Some protesters, including a woman, were also injured in the clash, the officials said.

In a related development, the legal advisor of Malik and AAP spokesperson, Appu Singh Slathia, said she was denied a meeting with him in jail despite repeated requests, while a dossier against Malik running in hundreds of pages was handed over to her after 24 hours.

"Malik was brought to Kathua jail at 11.30 pm on Monday and we forwarded a request for a meeting and a copy of the dossier. We were made to wait till 2.30 am on one pretext or another. Again this morning, we approached the jail authorities seeking permission to meet him, but to no avail," Slathia said.

"We will go through this love letter (dossier) and will decide the future course of action," she said, accusing the administration of violating rules by denying her a meeting with Malik.

Officials said a baby girl suffering from pneumonia, who was referred to Government Medical College (GMC) Doda from the primary health centre in Thathri, died after her vehicle was stuck in a traffic jam during protests at Pul Doda near the town, despite efforts by police to clear the way for the vehicle carrying the patient.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.