Fact Check: Have Mehbooba Mufti & Omar Abdullah Been Put Under House Arrest?

Srinagar: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah claimed on Monday they were put under house arrest by police hours before Supreme Court pronounced its verdict on Article 370.

The PDP posted on X that police had sealed the doors of Mufti’s residence.

“Even before Supreme Court judgement is pronounced, police has sealed the doors of the residence of PDP president @MehboobaMufti and put her under illegal house arrest,” PDP wrote on the social media platform.

The NC also tweeted, saying that Omar Abdullah was locked up inside his house.

“Early this morning, JKNC VP @OmarAbdullah was locked up inside his house. What a shame!” the party wrote on X.

Their claims, however, were dismissed as ‘baseless’ by Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

“This is totally baseless. No one has been put under house arrest or arrested due to political reasons in Jammu and Kashmir. It is an attempt to spread rumours,” he said.

PTI quoted officials as saying that police did not allow journalists to gather near NC president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah’s residence at Gupkar in Srinagar. The administration deployed a posse of police personnel at the entry point of Gupkar Road.

Farooq, the Member of Parliament from Srinagar, is in Delhi for the ongoing Parliament session, while Omar is in Srinagar.

Mufti, Omar and Farooq along with other Kashmiri leaders were arrested on August 5, 2019 – the day Central government passed bills to strip J & K of its special status and bifurcate the erstwhile state into two Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.