Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Jammu and Kashmir chief and Doda MLA Mehraj Malik was detained under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) on Monday, marking the first time a sitting MLA has faced such action in the Union Territory, officials confirmed.

The PSA allows detention without charge for up to two years in cases deemed a threat to state security. Malik, 36, was held at a dak bungalow in Doda after a 19-minute Facebook Live video where he alleged BJP-orchestrated harassment by the administration.

Malik, who secured AAP’s maiden J&K Assembly win in October 2024 by defeating BJP’s Gajay Singh Rana by 4,538 votes, has been a vocal critic of administrative lapses. Previously elected to the Doda District Development Council in 2020, he resigned after his Assembly victory.

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The detention, following an FIR for alleged abusive remarks against Doda’s Deputy Commissioner, has drawn AAP’s condemnation, with leaders calling it a bid to suppress dissent. 

This is a developing news story and will be updated.

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