SRINAGAR, 23 October 2003 — Police in Indian Kashmir yesterday detained six senior separatists to prevent them from leading anti-government protests on the 10th anniversary of a massacre of 40 Kashmiris, they said.

Yasin Malik, chairman of the pro-independence Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), and three more of the group’s leaders were picked up as they left their office in Srinagar, police said.

Hard-line separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, who was planning to visit the town of Bijbehara where the massacre took place, was meanwhile put under house arrest in Srinagar, police sources said.

Another separatist leader, Shabir Shah, was detained at Sangam, 35 kilometers south of Srinagar, while on his way to Bijbehara.

“The separatists have been taken into custody to prevent them from reaching Bijbehara,” a police officer told AFP.

More than 40 people were killed in Bijbehara 10 years ago Wednesday when security forces opened fire on a group protesting a siege of Kashmir’s revered Hazratbal mosque in Srinagar.

As the town, 45 kilometers south of Srinagar, remembered the deaths, tensions were high amid protests against the alleged killing of a civilian by security forces during a cordon and search operation.

Police said the man died in an exchange of fire.

As news of Malik’s detention spread, his supporters poured on to the streets near JKLF headquarters in the Miasuma area of Srinagar and started shouting anti-government slogans, witnesses said.

They stoned police, who retaliated by firing tear-gas.

Residents said shopkeepers in the area closed their shops in protest at the detention.

JKLF spokesman Tahir Mir denied that the detained JKLF leaders had planned to go to Bijbehara. They were in fact heading for the town of Tral to take part in a JKLF signature campaign launched three months ago to press for the involvement of Kashmiris in talks over the future of the region, he said.

Malik, whose group wants complete independence for Kashmir from both India and Pakistan, has been drawing large crowds during the campaign.

Malik was arrested in March last year on a charge that two people had smuggled $100,000 in cash for him. The JKLF chairman denied the charge saying he had no links to the seized cash. He was released on bail in November.

Revelers Gunned Down: Seven revelers were gunned down and at least 12 others were wounded after a jealous suitor and his friends opened fire at a wedding in Kashmir, police said yesterday.

The incident took place late Tuesday in Pul Doda, about 170 km from Jammu, the state’s winter capital.

Police initially said suspected Muslim militants were behind the attack, as the assailants were dressed in army fatigues and carried AK-47 assault rifles.

A quick probe revealed the six attackers included two policemen and a former militant. The plan was masterminded by a police officer, who had been rejected by the girl who was getting married.

A police spokesperson told New Delhi Television four of the six accused, including the jealous suitor, were arrested.

Director General of Police Gopal Sharma said, “This incident is not related to militancy. It was purely an act of personal rivalry as the girl refused to marry this policeman.”

Court Evidence Explodes: A policeman was killed and four other people injured yesterday when a grenade being used as evidence in a court case exploded in Kashmir, police said.

Head constable Brij Lal was showing a judge arms and ammunition captured from a militant when the device exploded in a court in Kishtwa, 187 km southeast of Jammu.

“One grenade exploded killing Lal on the spot,” a police spokesman said. The wounded included two advocates and another judge.

The explosion sparked panic inside the courtroom, sending everyone running for cover as they thought they were under attack from militants.