Two NC leaders, detained since Aug 5, admitted to hospital

Two senior National Conference (NC) leaders, who have been under preventive detention for the past 116 days following the abrogation of Article 370 provisions, were rushed to a government hospital here where they underwent angiography on Friday, the party said.

NC general secretary and former minister Ali Mohammed Sagar and former party MLA from Gnaderbal constituency Ishfaq Ahmed, along with 32 other political detenues, were recently moved to the MLA Hostel from Centaur Hotel. Their families have alleged that the MLA Hostel lacked proper heating arrangements required in "harsh" winter conditions of Kashmir Valley.

The party's Lok Sabha member from Anantnag constituency Hasnain Masoodi wrote to the principal secretary (home) of the newly created union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, stating that the two leaders had undergone angiography at the premier Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS).

Urging the administration to consider shifting the duo to their homes after discharge from the hospital, Masoodi, a retired high court judge, said they suffered from ailments of heart and needed constant medical care.

Officials confirmed that Sagar and Ahmed complained of chest pain and they were shifted to the hospital where they underwent cardiac tests.

The families of the detained political leaders said that during their incarceration at the hotel and subsequently at the MLA Hostel, the detenues were not allowed to go for walk and were confined largely to their rooms.

Expressing grave concern over the deteriorating health of several political leaders due to lack of facilities at the places they have been lodged under detention in these harsh and chilly weather conditions in the Valley, senior National Conference leaders issued a statement seeking detailed medical bulletin of all the detenues on a daily basis.

In a statement, National Conference leaders said, "It is inhumane and cruel to lodge the political prisoners at places san heating, medical and other facilities."