‘Jhansi kii raani’ arrested while sending JKLF flags in air at Maisuma                     

Before his arrest, Yasin Malik had put two persons from UP on the Azadi task

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 26: With all eyes on Kashmiri Muslim supporters of Yasin Malik to fail their attempts of hoisting anti-national flags at Lal Chowk, Police today discovered that JKLF’s balloons were sent in air nowhere but Malik’s residential locality of Maisuma. Two persons were found doing the Azadi job with an inflating machine. Both of them, immediately arrested by Police, are members of the majority community from Jhansi city of Uttar Pradesh. Malik, alongwith 16 separatist activists, was himself arrested by Police parallel to a crackdown on BJP activists as 25 of them were picked up from different locations. On occasion of the Republic Day, BJP and JKLF had announced plans to install conflicting flags on the Clock Tower at Lal Chowk.

Informed sources revealed to Early Times that Police swooped on a residential house in Maisuma minutes after JKLF balloons were spotted flying in air. Thirty-year-old Prakash and 20-year-old Koli, both residents of Jhansi, were caught red-handed while inflating and sending the balloons in air with the help of a pumping machine. Their balloons and machine were seized and both the youngsters were detained at a local Police Station.

SSP Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, confirmed the arrest of the most unexpected duo from Jhansi. He said Prakash as well as the young woman, Koli, disclosed during questioning that they had been making and selling the balloons in Batmaloo area. They revealed that they had been specially engaged by JKLF activists for the job of sending balloons in air on January 26^th from a house in Maisuma. Bukhari said that Police were likely to file an FIR against the duo after assessing all related circumstances within next 24 hours.

Earlier today, amid total shutdown in Kashmir valley and undeclared curfew in Srinagar, Police arrested Malik alongwith 16 of his separatist associates as they emerged from Maisuma and began proceeding towards nearby Lal Chowk while shouting pro-Azadi slogans. Many of them carried JKLF flags in hand. Those arrested included representatives from different constituents of Mirwaiz Umar-led Hurriyat Conference, like Bilal Gani Lone of Peoples Conference and Shahidul Islam of Awami Action Committee.

Once dreaded militants of Hizbullah and JKLF, Yasin Malik, Shahidul Islam, Mohammad Iqbal Gandroo, Showkat Bakhshi and Javed Ahmed Zargar did not offer any resistance to Police. That Police were in agreement with them in holding “a restricted show” was evident from the fact that all of them had gathered at Malik’s office and marched through the fully cleared lane before being picked up gently and packed into vehicles. They were later lodged at Police Stations of Kothibagh, Rajbagh and Kralkhud.

Malik, Lone and their key associates were detained at Kothibagh where over a dozen of BJP activists had already been lodged. Informed sources said that full hospitality and protocol was provided to the detainees who were free to interact with anybody on mobile phones. Police arranged lunch and dinner for them all. Sources said that one unidentified BJP activist was arrested and his flag was seized immediately after he came out of a Delhi-Srinagar Kingfisher plane at Srinagar Airport. He was whisked away to the Police Gazetted Officers Mess at Police Division Humhama where three of the party’s MLAs from Jammu were already detained.

As already reported in today’s newspapers, BJP’s MLAs Prof Garu Ram, Jugal Kishore and Sham Choudhary, alongwith a party activist from Udhampur, Pawan Gupta, had been detained on their arrival at Srinagar Airport yesterday. Authoritative sources today said that as many as 25 BJP activists, having reached here from different Indian states, were taken into custody by Police from different places in the capital city. Six of them were staying at Hotel Broadway, two at Hotel Pamposh and few others in residential houses of party workers in Habbakadal area. Sources said that most of them informed Police and mediapersons on phone about their whereabouts.

Officials said that all the BJP and JKLF detainees would be released in the forenoon on Thursday. Authorities were yet to decide whether they would be allowed to proceed with their plans of holding separate press conferences.

Even as all the scheduled flights operated at Srinagar Airport today and Police maintained surveillance on every incoming and outgoing passenger, Srinagar-Jammu national highway remained closed for traffic. Officials admitted that the unprecedented decision had been taken and enforced only to prevent BJP activists from arriving in the Valley. However, around a thousand trucks were allowed to reach from Srinagar and Anantnag to Qazigund.

The establishment succeeding in holding a trouble-free state ceremony on the R-Day at Bakhshi Stadium in Srinagar and all other district headquarters. While as Minister of Finance Abdul Rahim Rather was the chief guest at the main ceremonial parade in Srinagar, nine other Ministers took the salute and hoisted the Tricolour at similar ceremonies at other district headquarters. There were no reports of any untoward incident as Police and security forces enforced restrictions on ordinary civilian movement and the separatist groups had, as usual, called for total shutdown. Consequently, transport was fully off the road, people remained confined to their homes and none of the shops or any other business establishments were open in the Valley.

Separatist hardliners Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Shabir Shah were not allowed to move out of their residences while as other separatist leaders did not make any attempt to come out and disturb peace.

In Srinagar, Lal Chowk area was found completely out of bounds for everybody. None of the unauthorized officials was allowed to pass through Civil Lines as Police had put barbed wire barriers on all incoming and outgoing roads. For the first time since 1947, not a single journalist was allowed to pass through Lal Chowk. Most of the mediapersons had already shifted from their offices and residences in Press Enclave to other locations in the city due to undeclared curfew in town.

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