Hours after twelve people were killed and 14 injured  in a stampede at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti claimed that neither the administration nor police are carrying out their duties.

In a series of tweets, the former J&K Chief Minister said she is saddened by the tragic accident at Vaishno Devi and said that the administration and the police are “engrossed in threatening people into silence”.

My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, she tweeted.

Reacting to the house arrest of PAGD leaders ahead of the march to protest against recommendations of delimitation commission, Mufti said that the Union government trumpets scrapping Article 370 and dismembering J&K throughout the country but is deeply paranoid and intolerant when people of J&K want to protest against its disempowerment.

For the umpteenth time, we have been placed under house arrest for trying to organise a peaceful protest, she added.

Her reaction comes after Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said that a minor altercation among some young boys led to the stampede at the shrine.

Talking to PTI, he said the incident was very unfortunate, and police and other officials responded to the situation in no time.

Preliminary information from the scene suggests there was an altercation among some young boys, and within seconds, there was a stampede situation, the DGP said.

“Police and officials from the civil administration were quick to respond, and the order within the crowd was immediately restored, but by that time, the damage had been done. Immediately the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals,” the police chief said.

Meanwhile, a three-member high-level probe has been ordered by the government and the team will be headed by the Principal Secretary Home, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Jammu Zone, and Divisional Commissioner of Jammu.