Separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Engineer Rashid were on Saturday put under house arrest ahead of Sunday’s whirlwind tour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to all three regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Syed Ali Shah Geelani is already under house arrest.
The separatists have called for a shutdown in Kashmir during Modi’s visit to launch and lay foundation stones of various projects.
Besides Kashmir, Modi will also fly to Leh and address a rally in Jammu while laying foundation stone of the AIIMS. He will also launch projects at a function in the convention centre on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar.
The launch of projects worth more than Rs 45,000 crores is being considered as launch of BJP’s election campaign by Modi in J-K.
The Mirwaiz was put under house arrest in the morning when a heavy contingent of security forces blocked the entrance gate of his residence in the Nigeen area.
Multi-tier security has been put in place to prevent any untoward incident. Men of PM’s SPG, BSF, CRPF, ITBP, J-K Police and central and state intelligence agencies have been deployed for fool-proof security at Jammu, Srinagar and Leh (Ladakh) where Modi will visit during his day-long tour of the state.
Security personnel were also scanning and patrolling the Dal Lake in motorboats.
Security forces carried out three-day-long searches in Samba district to ensure security for the public rally Modi will be addressing in Vijaypur on Sunday. Some suspicious movement was noticed in the area by the BSF last week.
In addition, close vigil is being maintained all along the International Border (IB) between Pathankot in Punjab to Jammu. The BSF, which guards the IB, has been put on high alert.
Frisking of commuters and setting up of static and mobile checking points have been witnessed in Jammu city and Srinagar over the last few days.
In Srinagar, security forces carried out searches at Lal Chowk and drones were used to provide aerial surveillance during these searches.
Besides AIIMS, Modi will lay the foundation stones of IIM, IIT, Jammu-Akhnoor road, Shahpur-Kandi project, Sunderbani College, and IIMC. He will also inaugurate an engineering college in Kathua district of Jammu division. Modi will also inaugurate the first ever business process outsourcing (BPO) unit in Bandipora district of Kashmir.
Modi has visited Jammu and Kashmir 10 times since he became Prime Minister.
His last visit was on 19 May when he laid the foundation of the Zojilla Tunnel that, once completed, will connect the Ladakh region with the Valley making the present Srinagar-Leh Highway an all-weather road.