By IANS,
Srinagar : Senior separatist leaders were put under house arrest and business establishments as well as markets were closed Wednesday as the authorities clamped down to thwart a separatist march and shutdown in this Jammu and Kashmir summer capital.
Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chiefs of the two factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, were placed under house arrest Tuesday night.
The separatists had called for a Valley-wide shutdown and a march to the north Kashmir town of Sopore to protest two youths being allegedly killed by troopers of the counter insurgency Rashtriya Rifles last week.
Police have registered a first information report (FIR) in the Sopore police station against some troopers of the 22 Rashtriya Rifles for the Feb 21 incident.
Markets, banks, other business establishments remained closed while traffic was off the roads in Srinagar.
Attendance in government offices was thin because of the non-availability of public transport in the city and the suburbs.
“These are precautionary measures to protect the lives and properties of the people from the intentions of the miscreants. We are facilitating all genuine movement of the people except that an eye is being kept on those intending to disrupt the law and order situation here,” a police officer said.
Police did not stop passengers from boarding buses to Jammu and other cities.
Reports from other places in the Valley like Sopore, Baramulla, Kupwara and Badgam also said there was a complete shutdown is response to the separatist call.