Magsaysay award winner says he was put under 'house arrest' over protest planned in solidarity with J&K; authorities deny claim

A Magsaysay award winner, Sandeep Pandey, on Sunday claimed he was prevented by the Lucknow Police from leaving his house after he had announced a candlelight march in solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, media reports said. [caption id=“attachment_5810701” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] The protest announced by Pandey was to oppose the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution, which ended special status for Jammu and Kashmir. Pandey was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying, “There were policemen outside my house since Sunday morning. Initially, we thought they were on routine duty. I only realised that I was put under house arrest when they did not allow me to go out of my house.” However, district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma denied Pandey’ claims of being put under an house arrest. Sharma said that the authorities only barred him from holding the protest at the Gandhi statue at Hazratganj, and that he was free to stage a protest at another venue, the Eco Garden. Rajeev Yadav of the Rihai Manch, a civil rights group which was part of the scheduled demonstration told The Hindu that Pandey was placed under “house arrest” even after he had sent an email informing journalists that the protest was being postponed to 16 August. The agitation was said to have been rescheduled owing to security concerns due to Independence Day and Bakri Eid. According to a report by Daanish Bin Nabi , in a clampdown following the Centre’s decisions on Jammu and Kashmir, educational institutions have been closed, tourism halted, communication down, and locals wondering what next.