Under house arrest, claim ex-CMs Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, December 11

Former CMs Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti on Monday claimed that they had been placed under house arrest ahead of the Supreme Court verdict that upheld the abrogation of Article 370. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stated that the police had sealed the doors of Mehbooba Mufti’s residence even before the Supreme Court could pronounce its judgment.

However, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha countered the claim, asserting that no individual had been subjected to house arrest. The Srinagar police also denied the house arrest claims.

In response, Omar Abdullah took to X, stated that “the chains put on my gate have not been put by me, so why are you denying what your police force has done”.

“It’s also possible you don’t even know what your police are doing? Which one is it? Are you being dishonest, or is your police acting independently of you?” he asked.

L-G Manoj Sinha dismissed the allegations as “totally baseless,” stating, “No one has been put under house arrest or arrested due to political reasons in J&K. It is an attempt to spread rumors.”

Meanwhile, police officials restricted journalists from approaching the residences of National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah. The police presence was observed at the entry point of Gupkar Road.

Omar Abdullah, who currently resides with his father after vacating his official residence in October 2020, expressed frustration over the reported house arrest, while Farooq Abdullah, an MP from Srinagar, was reportedly in Delhi for the ongoing Parliament session.

The PDP shared on X pictures of the locked doors of Mehbooba’s residence. The party also claimed that its office had been sealed by the police.

National Conference state spokesperson Sarah Hayat Shah said Omar had been “locked up in his house”. There was no restriction on civilian movement across Kashmir and the internet worked normally, officials said.

29 magistrates deputed

• The higher-ups had late on Sunday evening deputed 29 civil officials as magistrates in the Srinagar city after receiving a communication from the SSP to keep an eye on the situation.
• Movement of the security convoys was also suspended as a precautionary measure, officials said