J&K: More separatist leaders put under house arrest

Srinagar: Authorities Tuesday foiled the plans of separatists to hold a rally at Eidgah in old city by placing more senior Hurriyat leaders under house arrest and deploying large number of security forces in the area.

While the Hurriyat chairman is under house arrest since Saturday, the authorities imposed restrictions on movement of other leaders of the amalgam this morning, a spokesman of the Hurriyat Conference said. Maulana Abbas Ansari, Zaffar Akbar Bhat and Shahidul Islam were among the leaders placed under house arrest this morning, the spokesman said. Moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had planned a rally at Eidgah to pay tributes to Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq and senior separatist leader Abdul Gani Lone on their death anniversary. Farooq, the present Hurriyat Chairman?s father, was shot dead by militants on May 21, 1990, and Lone fell to the bullets of ultras during a commemoration rally for the former on this day in 2002. Although separatists used to hold a rally every year on May 21 at Eidgah, the authorities imposed curbs on these rallies following the 2010 summer unrest. Official sources said heavy deployment of police and paramilitary CRPF has been made at the venue of the rally and roads leading to it. They said the deployment is a preventive measure so that law and order is not disturbed. District Magistrate Srinagar Farooq Ahmad Shah and SSP Srinagar S A H Bukhari had yesterday informed Mirwaiz that the proposed rally will not be allowed. Meanwhile, normal life across Srinagar city and other parts of Kashmir was affected as shops, schools and other business establishments remained closed. The moderate Hurriyat had called for a general strike. Attendance in government offices was also thin as public transport remained off roads in most parts of the valley. PTI