J& K Hardliner Mirwaiz Moulavi Omar Farooq Put Under House Arrest

18 April, Srinagar

After hardliner Hurriyat Conference (HC) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, head of moderate HC Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq was also put under house arrest Saturday .

More than a dozen other separatist leaders and activists were also put under house arrest or taken into preventive custody in the valley.It was a precautionary measure to prevent any law and order problem, official sources said.

Geelani, who returned from New Delhi on April 15 was put under house arrest from April 16 evening after a case under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was registered against him and Masarat Alam and a few others in police station Humhama in central Kashmir district of Badgam. However, Masarat was taken into custody Friday and remanded to police custody for seven days.

A spokesman of the HC said Mirwaiz was put under house arrest this morning to prevent him from leading any protest rally against the Tral killings. He said a large number of security forces and police personnel had been deployed outside the Nigeen house of Mirwaiz, who was informed that he cannot leave till further orders. Mirwaiz led a massive protest rally against Tral killing in the Nowhatta area of the Shehar-e-Khas after Friday prayers.

The area later witnessed clashes between security forces and demonstrators. Two senior leaders Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chairman Shabir Ahmad Shah and National Front (NF) head Nayeem Ahmad Khan are also remained under house arrest for the past two days. Shah and Khan alleged that more than a dozen of their workers were also detained in police stations in the valley.