Vacate govt quarter within 24 hours: Mehbooba Mufti served notice

After an eviction notice from her official residence Fairview Bungalow in Srinagar in October, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti was asked to vacate the government quarter under her occupancy in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, officials said on Sunday.

Mufti was served the eviction notice on Saturday by the executive magistrate of Anantnag, asking her to vacate quarter number 7 at Housing Colony Khanabal within 24 hours, said officials.

“You are asked to evict the quarter under reference within 24 hours failing which action warranted under law shall be taken against you,” the notice said. No reason was cited in the notice.

Earlier on October 15, the Estates Department of the Jammu and Kashmir government served a notice to the PDP president to vacate her official bungalow in the high-security Gupkar area.

Meanwhile, local news agencies, citing unnamed officials, said seven other former legislators including former MLAs and MLCs have also been asked to vacate the government quarters under their occupation.

The former legislators include Altaf Wani, Abdul Rahim Rather, Abdul Majeed Bhat, Altaf Shah Alias Kalo, Bashir Shah alias Veeri, Choudhary Nizamuddin and Abdul Kabir Pathan.

PDP chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari alleged that Mufti was offered a dilapidated place in Srinagar’s Tulsi Bagh, which she found unsuitable.

Fairview Bungalow, the house on Gupkar Road, overlooking Srinagar’s Dal Lake, was allotted to Mehbooba’s father, former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, in 2005.

The residence was previously an interrogation centre called PAPA-II, and it served as an official guest house till 1989. The Border Security Force (BSF) occupied it in 1990.