Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, who was under detention in Srinagar since Jammu and Kashmir lost its special status, was shifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on Monday morning, PTI reported. This followed a Supreme Court order on September 5 to move the ailing politician to AIIMS in consultation with doctors at Srinagar and Delhi.

Tarigami was accompanied by a doctor, a relative and a police officer to the national capital and was immediately taken to the hospital, unidentified officials said.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi passed the order a week after CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury visited Tarigami in Srinagar. Tarigami was among several politicians put under house arrest or detention since around August 5.

Authorities have claimed that the detentions were done as a preventive measure and that their release depended upon the situation on the ground. On Saturday, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval claimed that political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir were legally detained as a preventive measure and that none of them were charged with a criminal offence or sedition.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said on August 30 that the detained leaders should try to enjoy their stay at the hotels where they were being detained. Since their detentions, there have been no reports about former Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, while Shah Faesal challenged his detention in court.

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