Mehbooba Mufti sits on protest, ‘Only those with tainted past arrested’, says Police

Srinagar/ Anantnag May 25: The former chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir and president of People's Democratic Party, Mehbooba Mufti has sat on a protest on the old National Highway in Bijbehara in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.

Alleging that her party workers were detained by the Police, Mehbooba Mufti reached the Bijbehara Police station, however, after being denied the permission to enter the premises of the said police station, she sat on the road to protest the alleged detentions.

Officials have reached the spot to pacify the women and men who have joined Mehbooba Mufti on her protest.

Speaking to the media she said, “PDP is being selectively targeted. Our workers have been called to the Police stations for no reason but to stop them from voting. If LG Manoj Sinha had so many problems with me contesting the elections, he should have told me, I would have stopped from participating.”

Mehbooba Mufti had earlier written to the Election Comission of India stating that her party workers and polling agents were being harassed and detained to prevent them from voting.

Jammu Kashmir Police has responded to Mehbooba Mufti stating that “limited” number of people with “tainted” past and those with a record of anti national activities have been detained.

“Claims were made by a political party that their workers have been detained. Firstly, detentions are very few & restricted only to those who have a tainted past and based on credible inputs of potential threats to law and order & security on polling day. Mostly they are OGWs & are taken into preventive custody for ensuring a safe & peaceful election,” Anantnag Police said in a tweet.

The Anantnag-Rajouri seat is going to polls today, with more than 18 lakh voters in the fray to chose parliamentarian from twenty candidates.