Curfew in Srinagar, FIR against Mirwaiz

SRINAGAR - Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in Srinagar and other Jammu and Kashmir towns Sunday, a day after the city saw widespread violent protests following Eid prayers. An FIR was registered against moderate separatist leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq for inciting violence, officials said.

A senior police official said imposition of curfew had become necessary in the wake of the massive violence that followed a separatist march in Srinagar Saturday that was led by the Mirwaiz, chairman of the moderate Hurriyat group, and Muhammad Yasin Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.

A first information report (FIR) has been lodged against the Mirwaiz for inciting people to violence, the officer said.

Asked whether the Mirwaiz would be arrested, he said: “The law will take it own course.”

Indefinite curfew was also imposed in north Kashmir Baramulla and Sopore towns and south Kashmir Anantnag and Pulwama towns.

Srinagar saw unprecedented violence Saturday after mass Eid prayers as hundreds of youth shouted pro-freedom slogans and attacked police and government buildings.

As the prayers ended at the famed Sufi shrine of Hazratbal Saturday morning, thousands egged on by the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik marched to the city centre Lal Chowk, indulging in arson attacks.

While the police and paramilitary personnel refrained from firing at the mobs so as not to kill civilians, the crowds went on an arson spree, starting right from the Hazratbal shrine where police barracks within the complex were set on fire.

Later, smaller groups torched the building of the state electricity department and offices of the Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.