Omar Abdullah claims he, his family put under house arrest; 'movement of protected persons discouraged', says police

National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Sunday claimed he and his family including his father and Member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah, have been placed under house arrest.

He also claimed that his staff members are not being allowed inside his residence.

However, Srinagar Police said the movement of protected persons was "discouraged" on Sunday due to adverse inputs on the second anniversary of the 2019 Pulwama attack and that all concerned had been informed accordingly in advance.

"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) and me in our home, they've locked my sister and her kids in their home as well," Omar wrote on Twitter.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also posted photographs showing police vehicles outside the gates of his residence in the Gupkar area of the city.

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. pic.twitter.com/89vOgjD5WM

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 14, 2021

Omar also alleged that his house staff was not being let inside.

"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 and bitter," he said in another tweet.

Responding to Omar's tweets, police said the movement of protected persons and VIPs was "discouraged" due to adverse inputs on the second anniversary of the Pulwama attack.

"Today is 2nd Anniversary of dreaded Lethpora Terror incident. There shall be NO ROP on ground. Due to adverse inputs, movement of VIPs/ProtectedPersons has been discouraged and all concerned were informed in advance NOT to plan a tour today (sic)," the Srinagar Police said on its official Twitter handle.

However, Omar asked the police to explain under which law he had been detained. "You can advise me not to leave my house but you can't force me to stay in using security as an excuse," he said.

"Please share the written communication address to me and acknowledged by me (or my office) informing us in advance of these restrictions. Surely this anniversary didn't come as a surprise to the administration," he said in another tweet.

Please share the written communication address to me & acknowledged by me (or my office) informing us in advance of these restrictions. Surely this anniversary didn’t come as a surprise to the administration. https://t.co/wfWwYPiTM4

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 14, 2021

Responding to a journalist's tweet with screenshots of documents shared by police,, Omar said the detained persons had not been marked on the document.

Please note that none of the people who have been detained in their homes today have been marked on this document. More over it still doesn’t answer under what law police trucks are parked outside our gates preventing us from leaving. https://t.co/gfiSByydcU

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 14, 2021

The NC condemned the arbitrary detention of the party leaders and their family.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had on Saturday too claimed that she was placed under house arrest ahead of her visit to the family of Athar Mushtaq — one of the three alleged militants killed in an encounter in Parimpora locality in December last year.

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. pic.twitter.com/xFkcqTGQyV

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) February 13, 2021

With inputs from PTI