Three BJP leaders were detained in Srinagar on Monday when they attempted to unfurl the Tricolour on the occasion of the Accession Day, which the Union Territory (UT) dispensation has announced as a holiday from this year.
A police official said the three leaders from the party’s Kupwara unit arrived at the commercial hub Lal Chowk on Monday morning and were heading towards the Clock Tower when they were detained and shifted to the Kothi Bagh Police Station.
The police official said they were detained for violating prohibitory orders under Section 144 imposed in Srinagar.
The detained included BJP spokesman from Kupwara Mir Basharat, Mir Ishfaq and Akhtar Khan.
“We wanted to hoist the Tricolour to send a message to the members of Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) that only the national flag will remain in Kashmir. We had come to celebrate the day when Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession with the Centre,” Mr. Basharat said.
For the first time, J&K is observing October 26, the day when the then Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession in 1947, as a holiday.
