Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Wednesday said no one in Jammu and Kashmir was under house arrest but added 613 persons were detained under Public Safety Act (PSA) since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy in a written reply to Rajya Sabha said various measures were taken in the interest of security and public order, which included preventive detention of certain persons in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Since August 1, 2019, 613 persons including separatists, overground workers, stone pelters, etc. were detained at various points of time. Out of these, based on regular review and ground situation, 430 persons have been released till date,”
On August 5, 2019, Centre Government abrogated Article 370 and its corollary Article 35-A, which barred citizenship to outsiders and also provided constitutional safeguards to land and jobs of locals, and also bifurcated the State into two union territories- Ladakh and J&K.
On March 11, 2020, the Union Home Ministry said 7,357 persons were taken into preventive custody since August 2019 in Jammu and Kashmir.
