Jammu and Kashmir: CM Omar Abdullah alleges ‘physical grappling' as police stop him from visiting martyrs' graves

Time of India

2 days ago

J&K CM Omar Abdullah speaks to the media as he recites prayers to mark Martyrs' Day amid restrictions from the Srinagar district administration (Picture credit: ANI)
SRINAGAR: J&K CM
Omar Abdullah
climbed over a wall at Srinagar's Naqshband Sahib shrine Monday after police denied entry to him and several cabinet members attempting to pay tribute to the 1931 martyrs at their graves.
'I was subjected to physical grappling,' Omar said. 'I'm made of sterner stuff. I was doing nothing unlawful or illegal. The so-called protectors of the law need to explain under what law they were trying to stop us.'
Authorities had sealed the site a day earlier and placed several politicians, including Omar, his father and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, and PDP chief
Mehbooba Mufti
under house arrest — intensifying a political standoff between the Union territory's elected govt and Centre-appointed lieutenant governor's administration.
Determined not to be thwarted again, Omar avoided notifying anyone Monday. The confrontation began after the CM and his ministers headed to the shrine. Blocked by police barricades and
CRPF
vehicles, he and deputy CM Surinder Choudhary proceeded on foot. Minister Sakina Itoo arrived on a scooter, while Farooq came in a three-wheeler.
'They blocked our way with CRPF and police vehicles and even resorted to physical force,' Omar said.
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He alleged that police tried to tear the NC flag and manhandled party workers.
A video shared by Omar shows him scaling the shrine's wall after being refused entry. 'We succeeded in offering prayers,' he said. 'They think these graves matter only on July 13. If not July 13, then July 12, 14, or any other day — we will come and remember the martyrs.'
Observed as Martyrs' Day on July 13, the date marks the killing of 22 civilians outside Srinagar jail in 1931 during protests against Maharaja Hari Singh, then Dogra monarch of J&K. The event has become a flashpoint in Kashmir's evolving identity after
Article 370
was revoked in 2019.
Since then, police and security forces have been under the direct command of LG Manoj Sinha, while the Omar-led elected government has no authority over law enforcement.
Omar quoted BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley to underline the friction. 'Democracy in J&K is a tyranny of the unelected,' he said. 'The unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives of the people.'
Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq rubbed it in. 'The CM tasted the bitter medicine of authoritarian high-handedness and experienced what ordinary Kashmiris endure,' he said. 'I hope this experience shifts his focus to restoring dignity and fundamental rights.'