Law will take its own course: Mufti on Geelani rally

After the arrest of hardline separatist leader Masarat Alam, pressure is mounting on Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to take action against Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Geelani for his rally in South Kashmir.

After the arrest of hardline separatist leader Masarat Alam, pressure is mounting on Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to take action against Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Geelani for his rally in South Kashmir.

While Jammu saw angry protests, senior BJP leader and Union minister Jitendra Singh said the state government has taken pro-active action in case of separatist Masarat Alam and hoped the same would be repeated in Geelani's case.

Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani on Friday had addressed a public rally in Tral, 45-km from Srinagar.

Geelani had demanded that duration of the Amarnath Yatra be restricted to one month as the ecosystem of the area is fragile. He had also reiterated his opposition to separate colonies for Kashmiri Pandits.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference in Delhi, the chief minister had assured "action against Geelani in case he was found guilty. "Action will be taken against such elements, who had waved Pakistani flags in Tral on Friday," Sayeed said, adding "law will take its own course."

Last month, an FIR was registered against the separatist leader following a similar incident when the Pakistani flags were raised at a rally in Srinagar by Geelani. Separatist leader Masarat Alam, who was released from jail in March, was present at the rally where anti-India slogans were raised.

Alam was later detained and subsequently arrested under the Public Safety Act under which the separatist leader could be jailed for at least two years.

A police official, however, said that no such evidence was present against Geelani in Friday's rally. "Neither did he raise slogans nor was he seen with Pakistani flags,'' said an officer, who did not want to be named.

The Hurriyat (G) also maintained that nothing unusual happened at the rally.

"This has been happening since 1947. Nothing new happened in the rally,'' said spokesman Ayaz Akbar.

The hardline separatist leader remained mostly under house arrest since April 15 rally in Srinagar. He had left his Hyderpora residence in the early hours on Friday morning to attend the rally.