Mufti moves, security revamp at Nowgam

‘‘We will move to Nowgam before Eid and celebrate the festival there,’’ PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti told The Indian Express. ‘‘We were earlier planning to shift to Nowgam on Shab-i-Qadir (falling during the intervening night of October 31 and November 1) but now we are shifting before Eid (November 4 or 5).’’

‘‘The family had already made up their mind to shift early but…they preferred to wait for the final decision from the Congress high command,’’ a source said. The family had left their Nowgam residence in 2003 after which they shifted to the official residence of former Prime Minister Ghulam Mohammad Bakshi at Moulana Azad Road. The CM’s residence underwent a major facelift before Mufti moved in.

At a high-level meeting here, J-K Chief Secretary Vijay Bakaya and Director General Police Gopal Sharma reviewed the security arrangements at Mufti’s Nowgam residence. The meet was attended by other top security officials as well. Special Security Guards (SSG), responsible for Mufti’s security, have carried out a survey of the Nowgam residence and made recommendations.

‘‘The Nowgam residence is on the Jammu-Baramulla national highway which makes it vulnerable. Many sensors need to be installed there and lighting arrangement has to be improved,’’ a senior officer said. ‘‘We are also erecting more bunkers and the boundary walls have to be raised. Various drills have already been conducted at Nowgam.’’

Sources said some security agencies have, however, advised Mufti to shift to a highly guarded compound in Gukpar locality, presently occupied by J-K Bank chairman Haseeb Drabu. Gukpar houses some top politicians, including former CM Farooq Abdullah and NC chief Omar Abdullah.

Government sources, however, said Azad had not identified his new residence yet. Since state offices will shift to Jammu next month, Azad, for now, is being advised to stay at the Nehru Guest House.