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| Govt thwarts Hurriyat (M) Eidgah rally Undeclared curfew in old city; IGP denies | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Srinagar, May 21 (KNS): Authorities on Saturday imposed undeclared curfew and placed separatist leaders under house arrest to thwart a rally in Eidgah marking the anniversaries of the killing of Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone.
It was for the first time in over two decades that authorities prevented separatist leaders from holding the annual event to honour Moulvi Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone.
Police strung barbed wire to seal off the area around Eidgah where separatists were scheduled to lay foundation stone of ‘martyrs’ wall’.
Police and para-military CRPF troopers restricted movement of people in old city areas. Even media persons were stopped at several places by the policemen and CRPF troopers. “We have clear instructions from higher ups not to allow anybody to move. We have been asked to stop media persons and even students,” a policeman posted at Saidakadal bridge told this reporter and asked him to go back.
Reports said at several places media persons were beaten up while they were performing their professional duties.
However, the Inspector General Police, Kashmir Range, S M Sahai, claimed there was no curfew in any part of the city. “Neither there was declared nor undeclared curfew in any part of Srinagar. We didn’t stop any media person from performing his professional duty neither any press conference was stopped,” he claimed.
The IGP said that situation remained peaceful in the Valley.
A police spokesperson in a statement said, “Restrictions under section 144 CrpC had been imposed in five police station areas in the old city.”
“Keeping in view the recent assassination of Maulana Showkat and the assassination of Abdul Gani Lone in 2002, the authorities today decided not to allow the rally in Srinagar. There were apprehensions that rally could have created law and order problems and threat to any other leader,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, Mirwiaz in a statement termed government’s decision to prevent people from offering fateh to martyrs at Eidgah as “unfortunate and condemnable.”
“It is regrettable that the only standard response that the government has to
peoples’ aspirations and sentiments is repression, force and curbs. Time and again through the exhibition of power the government betrays the
fundamental principles of democracy, which it claims to, represent and
uphold,” he said.
The Mirwaiz said that it was right of every nation to honour and remember those who sacrifice their lives for it. “In India itself memorials of resistance against the British raj exist throughout, be it at Jhaliyanwala Bagh, Jantarmantar or Rajghat,” he added.
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