Srinagar, Nov 16 (KNS): A day after former chief minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti was shifted to a government bungalow near Banquet Hall from a government hut at Cheshma Shahi, authorities are in a process to shift over 35 mainstream leaders detained at Centaur hotel-turned-sub-jail to some other place.

Sources told KNS that CCTVs which had been installed in Centaur to keep a track on the activities of detained leaders were removed on Saturday. “As soon the facility, where the leaders have to be shifted is ready the leaders will be shifted from the Centaur. In all likelihood either on Saturday evening or on Sunday the shifting will take place,” they said.

The shifting of leaders from Centaur, sources said, was done due to various reasons. “As the Centaur is on the banks of Dal Lake, the detainees were complaining of severe cold wave conditions in the area. Per night and per room charges at the Centaur is Rs 7200 and the government was not to pay such a huge amount. The government was ready to pay only Rs 800 per room per night,” they revealed.

Recently the Centaur management had sent about Rs three crore bill to the government on account of the charges incurred on the facilities provided to the detained leaders, including room rent and food. The government had booked 42 rooms for the detained leaders and five among them were for security personnel of these leaders.

Over 30 leaders, which included Peoples Conference chairman Sajjad Lone, PDF President Hakim Mohammad Yaseen, NC leaders Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mubarak Gul, Altaf Kaloo, Ishfaq Jabbar, Irfan Shah and Dr Bashir Veeri, PDP leaders Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, Mohamamd Ashraf Mir, Zahoor Mir, , Aijaz Ahmad Mir, Mohammad Yosuf Bhat, Nayeem Akhtar, Yasir Reshi, Khurshid Aalam and Waheed Parra and former IAS officer and JKPM chief Dr Shah Faesal and deputy mayor of SMC Sheikh Imran, are likely to be shifted either to MLA Hostel at M.A Road or to Circuit House in Church Lane in Srinagar. (KNS)