Srinagar: National Conference leaders were on Monday stopped from visiting the residence of the teenage boy killed in police firing in Budgam district's Narbal area, police said.
"Leaders from National Conference were stopped from proceeding towards Narbal keeping in view their personal security as stone pelting was going on in the town," a senior police officer said.
Meanwhile, NC criticised the PDP-BJP coalition state government, saying the Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is "stifling" the democratic process by curbing the movement of the principal Opposition party.
"This is very strange and unprecedented. The government allowed separatist leaders to visit Narbal to offer condolences to the family of the deceased but prevented the principal opposition party from visiting. There is no precedent to this behavior," NC provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said.
The NC delegation wanted to visit Suhail Ahmad Sofi's family to offer the condolences from the party leadership and pray for peace to the departed soul.
"We were turned back from the Narbal Crossing by the police authorities despite the fact that they selectively allowed even separatist leaders to visit," he said, adding "the delegation was not allowed to proceed by the police on the instructions of the state government".
However, life in Kashmir returned to normalcy today after remaining disrupted for two days over the issue even as authorities lifted the restriction on movement of separatist leaders in Kashmir.
Wani alleged it was a "blatant" indication of PDP "misusing" state apparatus and machinery to do "partisan politics", more tragically on the death of a teenager who lost his life in a most unfortunate manner.
"PDP should do politics through legitimate means and stop resorting to petty behavior like this. The government officers and police officers should also understand that they are sworn to serve the democratic processes and institutions of the state and as the principal Opposition party, we have every right to move around without the police curbing our movement. This is very unfortunate", the NC provincial president said.
