People's Conference Claims Sajjad Lone Manhandled While Being Shifted to MLA Hostel; Police Deny

Srinagar: Tempers ran high during the shifting of political detainees from Centaur Hotel, located on the bank of Dal Lake, to the MLA Hostel when People's Conference chief Sajjad Lone allegedly refused to cooperate in the mandatory body search and luggage frisking by police personnel, officials said on Sunday.

The incident took place when Lone, who was part of a group of 34 political prisoners, arrived at the MLA Hostel at the high-security Maulana Azad Road.

Lone's party claimed that he was "manhandled" on pretext of security checking but the police denied it, saying it was following mandatory security drills.

The officials said Lone, who was a minister in previous PDP-BJP government in erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, wanted to walk straight to the room without being frisked after reaching the MLA Hostel.

The officials said that as the MLA Hostel has been declared a subsidiary jail, prison manual was being followed and every one was lodged after frisking.

The People's Conference issued a statement through its spokesman Adnan Ashraf, claiming that the police on the pretext of security checking, "manhandled and misbehaved" with Lone.

"This led to a heated exchange of words in which some of the members also exchanged physical blows," the statement said and condemned the police action.

Denying the allegation, Senior Superintendent of Police (Security) Imtiyaz Hussain tweeted, "...some Twitter handle claiming manhandling of some people at MLA hostel Srinagar, it is hereby clarified that no such incident has taken place. Mandatory security drills were followed as required for lodgement."