SRINAGAR, July 13: Police in held Kashmir detained 14 people on Sunday, including two senior leaders of freedom struggle, for staging a march to mourn 21 Kashmiris slain 72 years ago by a king, witnesses said.

On July 13, 1931, 21 Kashmiris protesting Maharaja Hari Singh’s autocratic rule in region were killed by his army outside the central jail here.

Two senior leaders, Shabir Shah and Javed Mir, and scores of supporters tried to march towards the graveyard where they are buried, but were blocked by baton-yielding policemen and asked to disperse, witnesses said.

When they refused, the police charged at them with batons high.

Mr Shah and Mr Mir were detained with 12 others, including another leader, Farida Behanji, and taken to a police station.

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed also visited the graveyard to pay tribute to “great martyrs who laid down their lives to see a democratic, secular, peaceful and prosperous Kashmir.”

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference had called a strike. Life was normal in Jammu.

The APHC said in a statement that the strike was “to commemorate those who laid (down) their lives for the freedom of Kashmir in 1931... and to remember all those who have sacrificed their lives for Kashmir’s freedom since 1931.”—AFP