Omar Abdullah says he and family put under house arrest

SRINAGAR : Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Sunday claimed that the government has put him and his father Farooq Abdullah under house arrest without any reason and termed this as the ‘new J&K.’

“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,” Omar tweeted while posting a picture of a bulletproof bunker vehicle placed outside his house.

Terming this as a new model of democracy, Omar said the government did not give any explanation to his family members.“chalo, your new model of democracy means that we are kept in our homes without explanation but on top of that the staff that works in the house aren’t being allowed in and then you are surprised that I’m still angry & bitter,” Omar said in another tweet.

The police did not refer to house arrest but said movements of very important persons (VIPS) had been discouraged in view of the second anniversary of the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers.

“There shall be no Road Opening Party 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,” a police spokesperson said.

On Saturday another former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti was not allowed to move from her official Gupkar residence.

Mufti had also alleged that she was stopped from visiting the family of Athar Mushtaq, who was killed in a controversial encounter on December 30,2020, and was placed under house arrest.“placed under house arrest as usual for trying to visit the family of Athar Mushtaq killed allegedly in a fake encounter. His father was booked under UAPA for demanding his dead body. This the normalcy GOI wants to showcase to the EU delegation visiting Kashmir,” she had said in a tweet. She also released a 2:06 minute video in which she was apparently not being allowed to move out of her residence .

This is the “naya/ new J&K” after Aug 2019. We get locked up in our homes with no explanation.