Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah’s sister and daughter were among the women agitators who were released on bail Tuesday night after a protest at the Press Enclave area of Residency Road in Srinagar against the abrogation of Article 370 on Monday.
Abdullah’s sister Suraya Mattoo and his daughter Safiya were detained by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday as they staged a peaceful protest against the withdrawal of special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
They were joined by the wife of former J-K Chief Justice Bashir Ahmed Khan and other prominent women members of the civil society, who wore black armbands and held placards while protesting against abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.
The women protesters were not allowed by the police to assemble and asked to disperse peacefully. However, they refused to do so and tried to stage a sit-in after which they were detained and then arrested.
The women, who were lodged in central jail Srinagar, were released around 6 pm on Wednesday after the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate granted them bail.
Abdullah’s sister Suraiya, his daughter Safiya and 11 other women furnished a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and surety of Rs 40,000 each under section 107 of criminal procedure code, giving an assurance that they would maintain peace, the officials said.
This was the first public protest since against the abrogation of Article 370 by Parliament on August 5.
The protest comes in the wake of easing restrictions on movement and communication in the Valley.
Hundreds of political leaders in Kashmir, including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah are still under preventive detention even after over two months of the Centre announcing its move to end special status granted to the state under the Article 370 and splitting it into two Union Territories.
Farooq Abdullah has been detained under the Public Safety Act.
Jammu and Kashmir was put under virtual curfew on 5 August when the Modi government scrapped the Article 370 and split the state into two union territories.
On detention of politicians, the Centre and the state government has claimed that it was done in accordance with the provisions of law to maintain law and order in the Valley.