Srinagar, Sept. 30: A National Conference activist died last night, allegedly in police custody, and his family has blamed Jammu and Kashmir’s junior home minister for it, putting Omar Abdullah’s government in a spot.

“My father was killed by Nasir (Aslam Wani) at his residence,” Syed Mohammad Yousuf’s son Talib said. “I got a call from my father around 3.30pm yesterday saying Nasir had asked him to come to his residence…. Around 5pm, he called and said he was sitting with the minister.”

Talib said his brother called their father around 6pm and heard “some heated argument. Somebody snatched his (Yousuf’s) phone. We continued calling but there was no response.”

A government statement said Yousuf had taken a bribe from two party members, promising them posts in a government body. It added that at the police (crime) headquarters, where he was told to report yesterday, Yousuf complained of uneasiness and was sent to a police hospital where he died.