Sayeda Aasiya Andrabi, the leader of the radical all-women Kashmiri group Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters of the Faith), was on Saturday arrested by the police in a raid on a house at Habbak here.
The firebrand separatist leader has been at the forefront of the ongoing unrest in the Valley and was calling the shots, along with J&K Muslim League leader Massart Aalam, after they went into hiding about two months ago.
Members of the local police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group raided a private house at Habbak, near Hazratbal, following a tipoff and the Dukhtaran chief and another activist, Ms Fahmeeda, both in head-to-toe black veils, were removed to a women’s police station at Ram Bagh here for questioning. Police sources here said Ms Andrabi was wanted in several cases registered against her at various police stations across the state.
However, she is likely to be detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) as most separatist leaders stand behind bars under the provisions of this stringent law, introduced in Jammu and Kashmir initially to deal with timber smugglers but often used against opponents by successive state governments.
Under the PSA, a person can be detained for up to two years without a formal trial being initiated although such detentions are subject to periodic review by an official screening committee.
The Dukhtaran chief’s arrest triggered protest demonstrations at several places here during which irate crowds clashes with the police and CRPF.
A curfew was already in force in areas under 34 police stations in Srinagar and other major Valley towns since early Saturday to hold back a “freedom rally” called by separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani at Srinagar’s TRC grounds.