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Article 370 verdict: Kashmir politicians allege house arrest; L-G Sinha denies
Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and police said that the claims were baseless and no such order had been issued by the authorities
Various political leaders of Kashmir, including former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, alleged that they were put under house arrest on Monday morning ahead of the Supreme Court’s verdict on abrogation of Article 370.
Omar, Mehbooba and People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) spokesperson MY Tarigami posted pictures on social media, claiming that they were under house arrest.
However, lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and police said that the claims were baseless and no such order had been issued by the authorities.
“Dear Mr LG these chains that have been 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 w hat your police is doing? Which one is it? Are you being dishonest or is your police acting independent of you?,” National Conference vice-president Omar wrote on micro-blogging platform “X”, along with pictures of his house at Gupkar locked hours before the verdict.
“Even before Supreme Court judgement is pronounced, Police has sealed the doors of the residence of PDP President @MehboobaMufti and put her under illegal house arrest,” a post by Peoples Democratic Party on X read, referring to Mehbooba’s Srinagar house.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MY Tarigami said that he wasn’t allowed to leave his house on Gupkar road.
“I am not permitted to move out of my residence. Media visits are prohibited. An armoured vehicle remains stationed outside my gate,” Tarigami wrote on X.
“It is to clarify that police has no orders to effect any kind of arrest, and certainly not connected with court proceedings including on article 370 by the apex court. There are no restrictions on any movement. Common man’s normal life continues at its usual pace and police though alert about attempts of the handful always eager to disrupt peace, has no intention or instructions to curtail this freedom of movement and activities,” J&K Police said in a statement.
