The Jammu and Kashmir government, perceived as separatist-friendly by various quarters in the national capital, however, showed a tough face to hard-line separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Sunday.
The police thwarted his plans of hosting a party convention at his residence in Srinagar by caning his guests and lobbing tear-gas canisters at them.
In the morning, 200 members of the Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference arrived outside his residence, hoping to celebrate the party’s 11th anniversary with their leader.
But the police asked them to clear the site immediately. In response, Geelani’s workers tried to break the security cordon.
The exchange panned out with the police beating them up and chasing them with a volley of tear-gas shells.
Hurriyat spokesperson Ayaz Akbar told The Hindu that “a dozen” activists got injured and five are in a critical state. The police denied the charge.
