The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister (BJP-PDP alliance) Mehbooba Mufti's official twitter account, which is handled by her daughter Iltija, tweeted Mufti's handle tweeted out a reaction condemning the death of a Kashmiri detainee who was lodged in jail outside Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370.
The tweet stated, "A 70-year-old is the first Kashmiri political detainee to have died at a jail in Rajasthan. MHA has blood on its hands & must be held accountable." But did the former J&K CM's handle get the facts right? Yes, a Kashmiri detainee was reported dead on Saturday, December 21 but the prisoner was not 70-year-old neither was he lodged in Rajasthan jail.
Reality check
A 65-year-old political prisoner from Kashmir who was lodged in the Naini jail in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj died on Saturday, December 21. Gulam Mohammed Bhat, a resident of Handwara in Kupwara district, was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in July. He was shifted to jail along with over 270 others, after August 5 when the abrogation of Article 370 took place.
According to the family members of Bhat they were informed on Friday evening, December 20, that he was unwell and was suffering from various ailments.
Haneef Mohammad, Bhat's son said, "Early on Saturday morning, I was sent to Uttar Pradesh. As soon as we reached Naini jail in the evening, I was told that my father had passed away." Haneef was allowed to take back his father's body and Bhat was buried in the Kulangam village of Handwara in Kupwara district on Sunday evening, December 21.
Haneef said he was first informed a few days ago that his father was not keeping well. "I told the police to bring him back and that the family would provide treatment here, but no one listened to us. We do not know the cause of death. Jail officials said he had a liver problem," he said.
Post Article 370 abrogation
Around thousands of people, including at least 300 political detainees were shifted out of Kashmir and lodged in various jails across the country like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan post the August 5 order by the centre. Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have been under prevention detention since the abrogation of Article 370. Last week, Farooq Abdullah's detention was extended by three months.
