Denouncing the “wild allegations” against him following following the custodial death of National Conference worker Syed Mohammad Yousuf, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said he was ready to face the judicial commission, to be set up by the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
Mr. Abdullah told journalists here that Yousuf's death was unfortunate but he had nothing to hide. “I will answer whatever questions are posed to me and I have no doubt that as a result of this judicial commission the facts will speak for themselves and all lies that I have been bombarded with since Friday last will be shown to be absolute lies,” he said.
“Instead of appreciating the fact that I took suo motu action on serious allegations of corruption against an individual associated with the NC, it has been suggested that I and my colleagues have been involved in criminal activity, and certain supposedly responsible political leaders have gone so far as to suggest that I have been involved in a case of murder.”
Mr. Abdullah said that so far he remained silent consciously because earlier, in a different case, when he shared preliminary findings with the media, he was accused of prejudicing the judicial inquiry. Now the volley of unfounded allegations forced him to break his silence.
“Without the post-mortem report, how it is possible for either sections of the political leadership or sections of the media to determine that the deceased was tortured? It's beyond my comprehension.”
Mr. Abdullah said that earlier in the day, the president of the People's Democratic Party had “levelled certain grave and very serious allegations against my person and against Dr. Farooq Abdullah [Omar's father and Union Minister]. I am already in touch with my lawyers and they will respond to these allegations in the form of a defamation notice.”
