Kashmiri separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and several supporting activists have been placed under house arrest or detained in police lockups ahead of the anniversary of death of two Shopian women whose bodies were found in a mountain stream a day after they had disappeared while returning home from the family apple orchard on May 29 last year.
While the Mirwaiz had planned to visit Shopian on Saturday, Mr Geelani has asked the people to march on the scenic town 52-km south of here, next day.
The police and CRPF also imposed strict security restrictions in parts of central Srinagar, which is known as a stronghold of the Mirwaiz’s supporters on Saturday. The Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest on late Friday evening whereas Mr Geelani, who was detained by the police while walking to a nearby mosque from his Hyderpora residence here earlier, has been shifted to the Srinagar central jail.
The family of Aasiya Jan and her sister-in-law Neelofar Shakeel had allegedly blamed their killing on the uniformed men and claimed that they were raped before their murder.