Shops and businesses were shut in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital, on Friday after pro-independence groups called for a shutdown in the region, a Press TV correspondent reported.
To prevent any mass protests, police detained a number of demonstrators who were demanding the return of the mortal remains of the executed leader.
“The Indians haven't returned the remains of Shahid Maqbool since he was hanged. Kashmiri people are demanding the return of his body to the nation of Jammu and Kashmir,” a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front told the Press TV correspondent.
Bhat, the founder of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, was hanged and buried in an Indian jail some 27 years ago after he was found guilty of killing an Indian intelligence officer.
Security forces were also seen patrolling the streets on Friday.
Authorities banned the assembly of more than four people to prevent any public protests in the Himalayan region. They said all the possible precautionary measures were taken to keep law and order in the city.
Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front, which declared a ceasefire in 1994, is now campaigning for complete independence for Kashmir from both India and Pakistan.
It has also started a signature campaign demanding the shifting of the mortal remains of their late leader from the Indian jail to the valley.
Since 2008, pro-independence leaders in Kashmiri have been holding regular rallies, which often turned violent and resulted in many civilian deaths.
Most of the killings were reportedly due to the Indian police firing. Indian police, however, said they are only after restoring law and order in the region.
Observers say the rallies are a barometer of anti-India sentiments of Muslim-majority Kashmir, over which India and Pakistan both claim sovereignty and have fought two wars. source
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