In a worst example of curb on freedom of expression in the so-called world’s biggest democracy, Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu has been put under house for criticising India’s decision of scrapping Article 370.
According to The Quint, the mayor said that people in the valley were not able to communicate with their loved ones due to communication blackout.
Junaid Mattu was returning home from New Delhi when arrested. He had gone to the capital for medical checkup, NDTV says.
Mattu in an interview with NDTV earlier this week had said that it was highly unrealistic to assume that situation had returned to normalcy in valley if the streets of occupied Kashmir are not littered with dead bodies.
Meanwhile, jails in the occupied Kashmir have ran out of capacity and now thousands of people detained without charges by Indian forces are being shifted via planes to other parts of the country.
Over 10,000 innocent people have been arrested by Indian forces over fears of unrest following the complete lockdown imposed in the valley on Aug 5.
India had abrogated Article 370 on August 5 withdrawing special status given to occupied Kashmir.
A local magistrate said last week that over 4,000 people had been arrested under the controversial Public Safety Act.
Most of the arrested Kashmiris have been flown out of the valley as jails here are running of capacity.
