Hurriyat group chairman Syed Ali Geelani under house arrest

SRINAGAR: On Friday the hard-line separatist leader and chairman of the breakaway Hurriyat group Syed Ali Geelani, was placed under house arrest in Srinagar.

A police officer on Friday reached to Geelani’s Hyderpora residence in the morning and told him he cannot move out on Friday, Ayaz Akbar.

Spokesman for Geelani’s group said, “Police have been deployed outside his residence. They are not allowing anyone to leave Geelani’s residence though nobody is being prevented from calling on him.”

According to a senior police officer, “In order to maintain law and order, Geelani has been told that he cannot leave his residence. It is in the interest of the prevailing peace in the city.”

Authorities maintain that the separatist leader has been making inflammatory statements after Friday prayers, which invariably result in violence.

“Wherever he goes to address post Friday prayer assemblies, youth are incited to violence. This needs to be prevented to protect civilian life and property,” the officer said