Delhi blast: All Kashmiris being looked at with suspicion, says Omar Abdullah

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the people of Jammu and Kashmir are apprehensive about travelling outside the Union territory as they are all seen as suspects for the violent acts of a few.

''In the prevailing circumstances, perhaps parents will not like to send their children outside. When we are looked at with suspicious eyes from every side, when attempts are made to defame us for someone else's doing, when attempts are made to bring everyone into the ambit of what few people have done, then it is obvious that it becomes difficult for us to leave for outside,'' Abdullah said at an event in south Kashmir's Kulgam.

The chief minister said it does not feel good to say this, ''but what can we do, that is the reality''.

''Few people are responsible for what happened in Delhi (car blast near Red Fort), but a perception is being created that we all are to blame for that and we all are a part of it,'' he added.

Sharing his thoughts, Abdullah said he also thinks twice before taking out his vehicle, bearing J-K registration, in the national capital.

''Today, even driving a J-K registration vehicle in Delhi is being seen as a crime. When I do not have many security personnel with me, I myself think whether I should take out my car or not, as I do not know if anyone will stop me and ask me where I was from and why I had come there,'' he added. The November 10 car explosion in Delhi that claimed 15 lives has triggered a sweeping, multi-agency investigation involving the Delhi Police Special Cell, NIA and Crime Branch. Since the blast, police have checked more than 500 people from Jammu and Kashmir in Faridabad alone as part of heightened security measures.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)