Separatist Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was on Wednesday placed under house arrest, while several others were taken into preventive custody to foil their plan of holding a rally parallel to that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s in the city on Saturday.
Police said second-rung leaders such as Abdul Manan Bukhari of Hurriyat and Noor Mohammad Kalwal of JKLF were taken into preventive custody. A total of 100 separatist leaders and activists have been taken into preventive custody to ensure that the PM’s rally on November 7 is hassle-free.
Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for a parallel rally on November 7. His call has been backed by almost all separatist groups in the Valley. Modi will be visiting Kashmir for a day, during which he will address a rally at Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium.