SRINAGAR, Nov 1: Police arrested three key freedom movement leaders in occupied Kashmir on Saturday under a tough security law that allows detention for up to two years without trial, triggering clashes with hundreds of protesters, officials said.

Police and paramilitary soldiers fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse the angry protesters, who hurled rocks at them, said Prabhakar Tripathi, a spokesman for the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The leaders — Mohammed Yasin Malik, Ghulam Nabi Sumji and Moulvi Showkat — were arrested for opposing elections scheduled to start later this month to choose a new government in the occupied region, a police officer said.

They were arrested under the Public Safety Act, which authorizes police to detain people for up to two years without trial. Human rights activists condemn the law as draconian.

Police had held the Kashmiri leaders under house arrest for several weeks following earlier protests against Indian rule.

As news of the Kashmiri leaders’ arrests spread in Srinagar, the region’s largest city, hundreds of Kashmiris took to the streets chanting “We want freedom” and “Release our leaders”.—AP