Omar Abdullah angry at being locked indoors on Pulwama anniversary; Police says he knew

The Srinagar Police countered National Conference (NC) chief Omar Abdullah's claims of being 'locked up in their homes' on Sunday, noting that the movement of VIPs and protected persons has been restricted on the 2nd anniversary of the Pulwama terror attack. The NC leader took to Twitter on Sunday morning to take a jibe at 'Naya Kashmir', and claimed that his father Farooq Abdullah - a sitting MP - along with his sister and her children had been locked up in their homes. Omar Abdullah further complained that the staff of his residence weren't being allowed to enter the premises and declared that he was still 'bitter and angry'. 

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However, the Srinagar Police refuted Abdullah's claims, pointing out that the movement of political leaders was discouraged on Sunday after having received adverse inputs. Further, it also pointed out to the NC leader that they had been informed about the restrictions in advance and were asked not to plan any tours on Sunday. J&K's unit of BJP also cancelled an event that was scheduled to be held on Sunday to pay respect to the 40 jawans who were martyred on February 14, 2019, in a suicide attack at Lethpora, Pulwama. 

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Responding to Srinagar Police's counter, Omar Abdullah demanded to know under what law he had been detained in his home. The NC leader argued that he could only be advised to not leave his residence and that he cannot be forced to stay inside citing security. Omar Abdullah also questioned the authenticity of the Srinagar police's Twitter handle, pointing out that it did not have a blue tick and wasn't verified. 

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Pulwama Terror Attack: A black day for India

Two years ago on February 14, 2019, 40 Indian soldiers were martyred in one of the worst terror attacks on Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. After the deadly attack, a Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had claimed responsibility for this terror attack. A 22-year-old suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the bus. The convoy had 78 buses in which around 2,500 personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar. The attack, which was reported near Awantipora at nearly 3:15 pm resulted in the death of 40 CRPF jawans, while many others were left injured.

After this attack, India had also withdrawn the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan and the whole international community had expressed its strong support to India in the wake of the terror attack. The memorial having names of all 40 jawans killed in the attack was inaugurated on February 14, 2020, at CRPF's Training Centre at Lethpora camp in Pulwama. The memorial is inscribed with the names of all the 40 troopers along with their photographs and the motto of the CRPF -- "Seva and Nishtha" (Service and Loyalty). India had conducted precision air strikes deep into Pakistani territory, hitting a Jaish terror training campus at Balakot and killing an estimated 300 terrorists under training.

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