A National Conference (NC) delegation from Jammu will be allowed to meet party president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah, who have been detained here, on Sunday.
NC spokesperson Madan Mantoo said the government granted the request from NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana to Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday. “A delegation, headed by Mr. Rana and comprising former legislators, will reach Srinagar on Sunday,” he said.
This will be for the second time in 63 days that NC delegations will be allowed to meet the leadership, under detention since August 5, when the Union government revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Dr. Abdullah, who has been booked under the Public Safety Act, is held in his house on Gupkar Road, and Mr. Abdullah is detained at the Hari Niwas Palace.
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Mr. Rana, who was among scores of NC leaders freed recently from house arrest in Jammu, has described the detention of the NC top leadership as “contempt of democracy”.
Sources said the NC delegation would discuss with the leaders the election to the Block Development Council. Unlike the Congress, the NC and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have neither commented on the election nor have shown any interest in taking part in it.
Meanwhile, 14 civilians were injured in a grenade blast outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Anantnag. A police official said the grenade exploded on the roadside around 10.30 a.m., outside the main entrance of the office.
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There was a heavy rush at the office when the attack took place, residents said.
“Two motorbike-borne youths came close to the office and hurled the grenade,” a police official said.
A journalist, a policeman and a woman were among the injured. The explosion sparked panic in the area where shops opened after two months.
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The shutdown entered the 63 day, affecting life. Public transport is yet to resume services. But private traffic has picked up. The attendance increased in government offices, officials said.