'If anything bad happened to Yasin Malik, govt would be responsible'

Family of jailed separatist leader Mohammad Yasin Malik Friday expressed worry over his well-being and said the government would be responsible if anything bad happened to him.

A Delhi court last week sent Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Malik, arrested in a case related to funding of separatists and terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir, to judicial custody till May 24. He is lodged in Tihar Jail in the national capital.

"If he is a prisoner, then a prisoner has certain rights and should he not get those rights? Why has he (Malik) been subjected to solitary confinement? The case or the (Public) Safety Act is fine, but we are extremely worried about his well-being. He won't sustain for long in that cage," the family said addressing a press conference at Malik's Maisuma residence here.

The family said they were not against the case registered against the JKLF chairman, "but if anything bad happened to Malik, the government would be responsible".

The family alleged that no one was allowed to meet him.

The JKLF chief is also facing charges of kidnapping and murder for being allegedly involved in abducting Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 1989, and killing of four Indian Air Force personnel in 1990.

The JKLF was recently banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.