Jammu and Kashmir: CM Omar Abdullah alleges ‘physical grappling’ as police stop him from visiting martyrs’ graves | India News

J&Okay CM Omar Abdullah speaks to the media as he recites prayers to mark Martyrs’ Day amid restrictions from the Srinagar district administration (Picture credit score: ANI)

SRINAGAR: J&Okay CM Omar Abdullah climbed over a wall at Srinagar’s Naqshband Sahib shrine Monday after police denied entry to him and a number of cupboard members trying to pay tribute to the 1931 martyrs at their graves.“I was subjected to physical grappling,” Omar stated. “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 location a day earlier and positioned a number of politicians, together with Omar, his father and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti underneath home arrest — intensifying a political standoff between the Union territory’s elected govt and Centre-appointed lieutenant governor’s administration.Determined to not be thwarted once more, Omar prevented notifying anybody Monday. The confrontation started after the CM and his ministers headed to the shrine. Blocked by police barricades and CRPF automobiles, he and deputy CM Surinder Choudhary proceeded on foot. Minister Sakina Itoo arrived on a scooter, whereas Farooq got here in a three-wheeler.“They blocked our way with CRPF and police vehicles and even resorted to physical force,” Omar stated. He alleged that police tried to tear the NC flag and manhandled social gathering staff.A video shared by Omar reveals him scaling the shrine’s wall after being refused entry. “We succeeded in offering prayers,” he stated. “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 twenty-two civilians outdoors Srinagar jail in 1931 throughout protests in opposition to Maharaja Hari Singh, then Dogra monarch of J&Okay. The occasion has grow to be a flashpoint in Kashmir’s evolving identification after Article 370 was revoked in 2019. Since then, police and safety forces have been underneath the direct command of LG Manoj Sinha, whereas the Omar-led elected authorities has no authority over regulation enforcement.Omar quoted BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley to underline the friction. “Democracy in J&K is a tyranny of the unelected,” he stated. “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 stated. “I hope this experience shifts his focus to restoring dignity and fundamental rights.”