‘Munna Bhai Matric Pass’ is actually JKLF

commander’s son

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 1: The boy, whose actions have been causing embarrassment after embarrassment to senior Congress leader and Minister of School Education, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, is actually the son of a slain JKLF commander. Now exposed in the ‘Unfair Means Scam’ of J&K State Board of School Education, Peerzada’s foster son had hogged headlines last year when he had quarreled with shopkeepers in Kokernag area, reportedly in inebriated condition.

With no issues from his first wife, who died in 1997, Peerzada married widow of a slain JKLF commander. Daughter of one-time senior Congress leader, Abdul Aziz ‘Tourist’, Dr Tabbasum had married prominent JKLF commander Pervez Billa in 1990. She gave birth to Aman Sufan next year. A year later, Pervez was stoned to death by militants of Hizbul Mujahideen in Chhattabal area of Srinagar on the allegation that he had planned and carried out the assassination of the outfit’s “Intelligence Chief” Mamoon Rasheed’s father.

According to Police records, Mamoon Rasheed, who had previously worked as a Constable in J&K Police, had also planned powerful IED blast at J&K Police Headquarters on January 25^th, 1992. A number of top ranking Police officials, including then DGP and some ADGs, had sustained injuries in the explosion.

Later, Mamoon’s father was assassinated by JKLF militants in the thick of an internecine clash. The assassination led to the broad daylight killing of Pervez Billa.

Working as a doctor in state Health Department, Dr Tabassum later married Peerzada. Her only son from the JKLF commander was adopted by Peerzada as his own son and he has been continuously living with the couple.

Peerzada shot into negative publicity in Panchayar Ghar Electrification Scam when he was Minister incharge Rural Development Department in then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s government in 2004. Newly created J&K State Accountability Commission (SAC) held him guilty and passed a judgment against Peerzada when Justice (retd) R P Sethi was working as its first Chairman. Like many others, Peerzada later got the action against him stayed from J&K High Court. Successive governments in the state have shown little seriousness in contesting the stay orders and getting these quashed with evidences and arguments. Questions on the subject have been repeatedly coming as embarrassment to all governments in almost all the sessions of legislative business every year.

Peerzada’s second wife, Dr Tabassum, was at the centre of a controversy on recognition of ETT Schools in 2006-07. Then MLA of Sangrama, Shuaib Lone (who is now head of Youth Congress in J&K) had rocked a session of Legislative Assembly with the allegation that Education Minister’s wife had demanded and accepted bribe money worth Rs 40,000 from the MLA’s sister on account of recognition of her ETT school near Baramulla. MLA later alleged that the Minister’s wife had threatened his mother of dire consequences on telephone. Then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, consequently, forced Peerzada to resign as Education Minister and also got him removed from AICC as president of J&K Pradesh Congress Committee.

On AICC recommendation, Omar Abdullah inducted Peerzada again as Minister incharge School Education when he became head of the current NC-Congress coalition government in January 2009. Peerzada’s foster son Aman Sufan was arrested by Police in Anantnag and case FIR No: 271 of 2011 was lodged against him on August 4, 2011, when he and six of his associates allegedly rampaged into residential houses and shops in the Minister’s residential village in Kokernag.

END