'Free Kashmir' placard holder apologises, bats for lifting restrictions

Mumbai: The woman behind the controversial "Free Kashmir" placard displayed at the protest rally at the Gateway of India here on Tuesday said she was just demanding lifting of restrictions in the new Union Territory and claimed her act has been "blown out of proportion".

The placard with "Free Kashmir" message, held aloft by a woman at the Gateway of India on Monday during the protest against the violence inside the JNU campus on Sunday night, had caught the attention of many.

As it snowballed into a controversy and triggered a war of words between ruling and opposition leaders, the woman, Mehak Prabhus, issued an apology, while Maharashtra government ordered a probe into her "antecedents".

"If by being naive in understanding the impact it would have and in the process create this stir, I apologise. I am an artist who believes in basic human compassion. Let power of love overcome hate," she said.