Police foil JRL’s protest seeking return of mortal remains of Maqbool Bhat, Afzal Guru

Srinagar: Scores of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) leaders and activists were on Monday detained at Lal Chowk after they were protesting at Lal Chowk Srinagar, a statement issued here on Monday said.
The protesters , the statement said, were demanding the return back of mortal remains of what they termed as foremost resistance leader and ideologue’ Muhammad Maqbool Butt and son of soil Muhammad Afzal Guru who were hanged at Tihar jail on 11th February 1984 and 9th February 2013 respectively and buried inside the said Jail.
Earlier, leaders and activists of JRL along with people from other walks of life including women gathered near JKLF office Maisuma and marched towards Lal Chowk, the statement said, adding that “Police to foil Lal Chowk protest had sealed almost all entry and exit points with barbed wire and other barricades.”
Heavy deployment of forces and stringent restrictions were also in place but despite these oppressive measures and spree of arrests and nocturnal raids, it added. JRL leaders along with other people and activists marched towards Lal Chowk with passion. As this protest rally reached near Budshah Chowk, it was stopped by heavily armed police and forces.
Holding photographs and placards depicting photographs of Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru and raising slogans in favor of freedom, martyrs and return back of the mortal remains of Maqbool and Afzal, protesters gave a stiff resistance to police and forces. “Police after using force arrested many JRL leaders and activists and shifted them to police station Kothi-bagh immediately,” it added.
Prior to their arrest, JRL leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid while talking to media and protesters said that “the hanging of foremost resistance leader Muhammad Maqbool Butt and warrior Muhammad Afzal Guru and denial of a proper burial to them by India is a worst kind of cruelty and tyranny that is exposing the tall claims of Indian democracy.”
Paying tributes to Muhammad Maqbool Butt, JRL leader said that “the illegal hanging of these two Kashmiris is actually travesty of justice done by biggest democracy of the world and refusing these martyrs a proper burial shows that Indian state is fearful of even the corpses of these martyrs.”
While condemning the ‘oppression unleashed by rulers to suppress peaceful protests on 9th and 11h February’, speakers said that “imposition of curfew and restrictions in Srinagar, Kupwara and other parts of Kashmir, nocturnal and daytime police raids against resistance leaders and activists, placing many under house arrest including Senior leader and chairman Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani and chairman Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq and arresting JKLF chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik has exposed the myth of Indian democracy in Jammu Kashmir.” Speakers also condemned the arrest and house arrest of various leaders and activists . On the occasion a copy of the memorandum to UN secretary general was also released to media.