SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday resigned after the opposition alleged that he was involved in a sex trafficking scandal three years ago.
Abdullah’s resignation came just hours after an opposition leader accused him of being on a list of politicians who were supplied trafficked women and underage girls. Kashmir’s opposition People’s Democratic Party leader Muzaffar Baig alleged that Abdullah’s name appeared in a document presented in 2006 by CBI to the court that has been trying the case. The opposition claimed they had accessed the list, but no details were given.
“He has lost the moral authority to rule the state, he must resign,” Baig said.
Reacting to the allegation, an emotionally charged chief minister lost no time in announcing his resignation and saying, “This is not an ordinary allegation, but a highly serious one. I cannot continue in office till I am cleared.”
The chief minister’s announcement threw the house in pandemonium with the ruling National Conference members rushing toward Omar and preventing his exit from the house.
Omar, however, dismissed their resistance and pleas and left the assembly complex and drove straight to the residence of his father, Dr. Farooq Abdullah.
The scandal surfaced in 2006 after pornographic videos and multimedia messages started spreading through mobile phones. Police began investigating the content and discovered that women and underage girls were being trafficked and supplied to politicians, bureaucrats and security officials.
It sparked weeks of violent protests across the state. The case is still being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
