HC quashes Hurriyat leader’s detention

The court has also questioned the Government’s intension of putting him under preventive detention. The court observed that, while a criminal case was already filed against the separatist leader and his associates, there was no need to put them under preventive detention, said Arshad Andrabi, the Hurriyat leader’s counsel.

On April 26, J-K Police had arrested six leaders of the hardline Hurriyat faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, three days after the rally created a political storm where a Jamaat-ud-Dawa flag was spotted. Following this, the state unit of the BJP demanded action against Geelani for “using the Indian territory for anti-India propaganda”. The arrested included senior Hurriyat leaders Masarat Alam, Ghulam Nabi Sumji, Mohammed Shafi Lone, Firdous Ahmad Shah, Mohammed Yasin and Mehrajuddin. Sumji was, however, later released.

The leaders were apprehended just before they were about to address a press conference in a Valley hotel. The arrests had become inevitable after the police registered a case against Geelani and his four close associates under Unlawful Activities Act on April 22.