Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, along with his father Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting Parliamentarian from Srinagar), found themselves locked up inside their Gupkar road house early Sunday morning after they noticed a police van stationed outside the front gate had blocked their way.
Angry over this development, Omar Abdullah immediately took to Twitter to vent his ire against the security establishment. In a series of tweets Omar wrote, “This is the ‘naya/new J&K’ after Aug 2019. We get locked up in our homes with no explanation. It’s bad enough they’ve locked my father (a sitting MP) & me in our home, they’ve locked my sister & her kids in their home as well.”
In response, a Twitter handle of Srinagar police said, “Today is the 2nd anniversary of the dreaded Lethpora Terror incident. There shall be NO ROP on ground.
Due to adverse inputs, movement of VIPs/Protected Persons has been discouraged and all concerned were informed in advance NOT to plan a tour today”.
However, unrelenting Omar Abdullah hit back questioning the police claim. He wrote back, “Please share the written communication addressed to me & acknowledged by me (or my office) informing us in advance of these restrictions. Surely this anniversary didn’t come as a surprise to the administration.
In response, an official communication exchanged between senior security officers was made public to highlight the prevailing circumstances under which such restrictions were necessitated. Unsparing Omar again reacted strongly. “Please note that none of the people who have been detained in their homes today have been marked on this document. Moreover it still doesn’t answer under what law police trucks are parked outside our gates preventing us from leaving”.
In a joint statement the senior National Conference leaders, including party general secretary Ali Mohd Sagar, condemned the arbitrary confinement of top party leaders. “Confining party leaders to their homes exposes the iron fist approach towards Jammu and Kashmir. The measure is the gross violation of human rights and is highly condemnable. Previously also at various instances, the leaders were debarred from moving out from their residences exclusively for any reason. The undue measure marks a new low in the curtailment of fundamental rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir. The measures reveal abnormal is the new normal in this part of the world,” they said.