India charges Geelani’s kin under anti-terror law

Indian paramilitary troopers patrol a road in Srinagar as security forces maintained a lockdown across Kashmir in recent days. (AFP)

The family of a separatist leader from Kashmir have been booked for police investigation under a sweeping anti-terrorism law for chanting anti-New Delhi slogans and wrapping his body with Pakistan’s flag after he died, officials said. Tensions in the territory have heightened since Syed Ali Geelani died on Wednesday at the age of 92 in the main city of Srinagar. Police in Kashmir said a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) — which effectively allows people to be held without trial indefinitely — was registered on Saturday against Geelani’s family. The family were accused of “raising anti-national slogans and resorting to other anti-national activities” at the influential resistance leader’s home soon after his death. They have not yet been detained by police. In India a booking may not necessarily lead to a formal charge, but is an incident that is officially recorded. Critics say bookings have been used by police to intimidate locals in the region. The separatist leader’s son Naseem Geelani did not deny the allegations but repeated earlier claims that police took his father’s body away to be buried in the middle of the night just hours after his death, and did not allow the family to perform last rites. Police have refuted those allegations. “We told the visiting police officers that they had taken control of everything after my father’s death and that we were mourning. We had no way of knowing who was doing what,” the son said yesterday. A video widely shared on social media showed the leader’s body wrapped in a Pakistani flag before police officers took it away amid a scuffle with his family members. Chants of “we want freedom” were heard in the background during the mayhem. Authorities yesterday eased a lockdown imposed to maintain calm after his death across Kashmir, allowing for limited movement. An Internet and mobile phone shutdown was partially eased on Saturday. Geelani, a popular figure in the region, spent over five decades fighting for self-determination for people in Kashmir. Islamabad observed a day of national mourning after Geelani’s death and funeral prayers for the leader were held across Pakistan and in Turkey. In Srinagar, Indian troops are guarding Geelani’s grave and no-one is allowed to approach it. Anger has simmered in the territory since 2019 when New Delhi controversially revoked the region’s semi-autonomy and brought it under direct rule. Residents say repression has intensified in the two years since the changes. India has used the vaguely-worded UAPA legislation against thousands of Kashmiri residents, journalists and dissidents, according to activists. Rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces for decades. Tens of thousands have died in the fighting, most civilians.