Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday claimed that she was placed under house arrest and prevented from visiting Pattan town in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. The Jammu and Kashmir Police, however, denied the claim.
“While [Union Home Minister Amit Shah] is going around Kashmir beating drums of normalcy, I am under house arrest for simply wanting to visit Pattan for a worker’s wedding,” Mufti said. “If an ex-CM’s fundamental rights can be suspended so easily, one cannot even imagine the plight of a commoner.”
Shah is slated to address a rally in the Baramulla town later on Wednesday.
The Srinagar Police said that Mufti was free to travel and no restrictions were placed on her movement. “The picture tweeted by her is of the inside of the gate with its own lock of residents who stay in the bungalow,” the police said.
Mufti claimed that the Baramulla superintendent of police had told her on Tuesday that she would not be allowed to travel to Pattan. “Today, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have themselves locked my gates from inside and are now lying through their teeth,” she said. “Sad that law enforcement agencies are brazenly trying to cover up their tracks.”
In response, the police said that some routine security-related inputs were conveyed to her, and reiterated that the former chief minister was free to travel.
On September 7, 2021, Mufti had made a similar claim about having been placed under house arrest. The police had, however, denied the claim and said that she was only requested not to visit the Kulgam district for security reasons. She was slated to attend a family function at a village in Kulgam district.
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