Omar hops a fence to reach Martyrs’ cemetery: ‘Policemen sometimes forget the law’

Speaking to the media after paying tributes, Omar said that the political leaders were locked up on Sunday on the “clear” directions of the Lt Governor Manoj Sinha. He added that “we are not slaves of anyone”.

The CM had been put under house detention at his Gupkar residence on Sunday after arriving in Srinagar from West Bengal.

“(On Sunday), I informed the control room that I wanted to visit (the cemetery), and within minutes, concertina wire was laid around my house. It remained there till midnight,” Omar told the reporters. “Today (Monday), I didn’t tell them. Without saying anything to them, I sat in the vehicle, and see their shamelessness – even today they tried to stop us. They tried to scuffle with us. These policemen sometimes forget the law,” he said.

Omar asked under which law the police tried to stop him and his colleagues. “If there was an order, it was for yesterday (Sunday). They tried to stop us, but we foiled their attempt and offered fateha (prayers),” Omar said. “They say this is a free country, but sometimes they think we are their slaves. We are not slaves of anyone. If we are slaves of anyone, it is the people.”

Taking a swipe at the L-G, he said, “The people who say their only responsibility is security and law and order, on their clear directions we were not allowed to come here to offer fatehah (yesterday),” he said.

Omar said that the LG’s administration and security agencies are misconceived about the July 13 martyrs. “They think their graves are here only on July 13,” he said. “How long will they stop us, if it is not 13, it is 14. Whenever we want to come, we will come to remember these martyrs.”

Omar was accompanied by his father and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary and several other ministers and party leaders.