Mehbooba Mufti shifted to govt quarters in Srinagar
SRINAGAR: Former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and president of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti, who has been under detention since before August 5, was shifted to government quarters close to Lal Chowk in Srinagar, sources said Friday.
She was shifted to a guest house of the estate department that was better equipped with heating arrangements. “She was shifted on Thursday. The place is better furnished,” said a senior official wishing not to be named.
Mufti was placed under house arrest and lodged in a hut at Chashme Shahi before the Centre nullified the Article 370, splitting the state into two union territories. Many politicians including Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar were detained ahead of the revocation.
Mehbooba’s daughter Iltija Mufti had written a letter to the government in October requesting her mother be shifted from Chashme Shahi citing ill-health. She had then uploaded the letter on Twitter in the first week of November. “It was cold there. There was no power for four days after the recent snowfall. Today they informed me she has been shifted,” said Iltija.
“It made me realise she is not coming home soon. If they had any intentions to release her, they would not have shifted her,” she added.
In the next few days, the government plans to shift all political leaders who are currently under detention at Centaur Hotel. Three places near city centre have been shortlisted for the same, the official said.