Dogra Sadar Sabha president and former minister Gulchain Singh Charak was detained ahead of his scheduled press conference in Jammu on Tuesday. Charak’s son Gambhir Dev Singh said the leader had reached his party headquarters at Dogra Hall in the city to address a press conference and was picked up by police without citing any reason.
Gambhir, who is also in-charge of the youth wing of the party, said the press conference was convened by the Dogra Sadar Sabha to put forth some suggestions for safeguarding the interests of the people of Jammu region with regard to the re-organization of the state post abrogation of Article 370.
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“There is no justification for the action as our organisation has wholeheartedly welcomed the abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5…the action tentamounts to murder of democracy,” he said.
On August 16, police had briefly detained state Congress chief spokesperson and former Member of Legislative Council Ravinder Sharma from party headquarters here to prevent him from addressing the media.
Several top leaders of Jammu and Kashmir, including state Congress president Ghulam Ahmed Mir, Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan founder Choudhary Lal Singh and National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana are under house arrest since the Centre revoked special status of the state under Article 370 and introduce a bill for bifurcation of the state into two union territories. Former chief ministers of the state, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have also been put under house arrest after the Modi government abrogated Article 370.
On Saturday, a delegation of Opposition leaders led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was also asked to return from Srinagar. The delegation had gone to Jammu and Kashmir to check the on-ground situation of the state after multiple reports of violence and detention emerged. The Congress leader tweeted, “It’s been 20 days since the people of Jammu & Kashmir had their freedom & civil liberties curtailed. Leaders of the Opposition & the Press got a taste of the draconian administration & brute force unleashed on the people of J&K when we tried to visit Srinagar yesterday.”
