Strike against CBI report in Shopian case hits valley

Normal life was paralysed across the Kashmir Valley on Tuesday due to a strike called by a local outfit to protest the CBI report in the Shopian case even as authorities placed top Hurriyat leaders under house arrest as a precautionary measure.

Shops and markets in Srinagar and other major towns of the valley remained closed in response to the strike called by Majlis-e-Mushawarat, Shopian, to protest alleged "shielding of guilty and presenting of chargesheet against innocents" in the case, official sources said.

Giving a clean chit to four police officials in the case, CBI had on Monday said two women, who were alleged to have been raped and murdered, had actually died due to drowning and indicted 13 people including six doctors, five lawyers and two civilians for allegedly fabricating evidence.

Fearing trouble, authorities placed under house arrest all top Hurriyat leaders including chairman of moderate faction Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Nayeen Ahmad Khan, the sources said.

Light rains in most parts of the valley including Srinagar also forced people to stay indoors. The situation in the city and elsewhere was tense but there was no report of any untoward incident so far, police sources said.

Contingents of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in sensitive areas to maintain law and order.