JAMMU, India — Indian authorities have arrested two former top elected officials of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir under a controversial law that allows authorities to imprison someone for up to two years without trial, officials said on Friday. Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah were arrested as their six-month-old detention ended Thursday, a top civil administrator and top police officers said. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to reporters. They were among thousands of people detained when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist-led government stripped Jammu and Kashmir of semi-autonomy and statehood, downgrading them into two federal territories last August. Since, they had been held under house arrest under a preventive custody law that allows authorities to detain people who are feared might commit offenses for up to six months.

Source: International New York Times February 07, 2020 08:03 UTC