LAHDC executive councillor writes to LG, alleges misuse of magistrate power against him

Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, Executive Councillor Mohd Ali Chandan has approached Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur alleging misuse of magistrate power against him by the local administration and sought necessary action in the matter, according to official documents.

The move comes after the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Kargil-Ladakh wrote to the LG on March 28, noting that Chandan crossed many check posts without permission from the competent authorities and tried to enter the cantonment zone in violation of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Two days after the ADM's letter, Chandan wrote to Mathur saying that the District Magistrate is misusing his power to subjugate the functioning of LAHDC- Kargil and issuing the correspondence based on false allegations made against him.

Chandan said that being the executive councillor for health, he was getting distress calls from the general public from different parts of the district regarding health emergencies arising due to COVID-19.

Following which, the executive councillor said he planned visit to parts of the district for which he "had already informed the chairman/chief executive officer, LAHDC, Kargil and Senior Superintendent of Police because it was the dire need of the hour and the least that I could have done in such a situation of pandemic", the letter said.

He claimed the "attitude of the District Magistrate is nothing more than a well-planned conspiracy to publicly defame me in particular".

Chandan, who is executive councillor for health, agri, revenue and forest among others, sought initiation of necessary action into the matter by the LG.

Meanwhile, Zakir Hussain, Block Development Council (BDC), Sodh Kargil (Ladakh), also wrote to Mathur on Friday seeking initiation of a "genuine enquiry" into the matter to ensure smooth functioning of the system to defeat the coronavirus pandemic.

Hussain said the report against Chandan over alleged violation of Section 144 by the local administration was "unreasonable".