J&K: Omar Abdullah scales fence to reach Martyrs' cemetery after being stopped by police
This came a day after the police confined political leaders, including the chief minister, inside their homes to prevent them from visiting the cemetery on the Kashmir Martyrs' Day.
July 13 is marked as Martyrs' Day to honour the 22 civilians. It was dropped as a public holiday after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government in August 2019 abrogated Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
On Monday, Abdullah alleged that the restrictions on Sunday were imposed on the ' clear instructions ' of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, reported The Indian Express.
'The unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives of the people of J&K,' he had earlier posted on social media.
Speaking to reporters, Abdullah claimed that when he had informed the police control room on Sunday that he wanted to visit the cemetery, security personnel surrounded his Gupkar residence with concertina wire 'within minutes' and the blockade stayed in place till midnight.
'Today [Monday]...without saying anything to them, I sat in the vehicle and…even today they tried to stop us,' The Indian Express quoted him as saying. 'They tried to scuffle with us. These policemen sometimes forget the law.'
This is the physical grappling I was subjected to but I am made of sterner stuff & was not to be stopped. I was doing nothing unlawful or illegal. In fact these 'protectors of the law' need to explain under what law they were trying to stop us from offering Fatiha pic.twitter.com/8Fj1BKNixQ
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 14, 2025
The chief minister added that the lieutenant governor and security agencies had misunderstood the significance of July 13.
'They think their graves are here only on July 13,' the newspaper quoted him as saying. '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.'
The chief minister was accompanied by his father and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and other party leaders.
Several regional parties in the Union Territory have been demanding the resumption of the official ceremony to commemorate July 13 as Martyrs' Day. Leaders had also submitted applications to the deputy commissioner for permission, which were denied, The Hindu reported.
On Saturday, the police warned that action would be taken against those heading to the shrine of Naqsband Sahib in Srinagar, where the 22 civilians are buried. Security forces also barricaded the shrine and the roads leading to it.
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